


in this world and the next

by Senkaze



Category: Naruto
Genre: (but not of the author), (literally he went out and found them), (mentioned only) - Freeform, (only slight ones and they're cleared up), Absolutely no incest, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Canonical Character Death, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Reunions, Fix-It, Fluff, Found Family, Founding of Konoha, Gen, Identity Reveal, Misunderstandings, No Incest, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Canon, Pre-Konoha Village, Pre-Naruto Canon Era, Protective Older Brothers, Protective Siblings, Reincarnation, Reunions, SI!Izuna, SI!Tobirama, Self-Insert, Self-Insert Izuna, Self-Insert Tobirama, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Warring States Period (Naruto), sibling antics, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 46,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28241943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Senkaze/pseuds/Senkaze
Summary: Tobirama and Izuna were brothers in another life.In this one, as their brothers fight, they plot and scheme to change the world.(Self-Insert Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna)
Relationships: Senju Hashirama & Senju Tobirama, Senju Hashirama & Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Izuna, Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Izuna & Original Character(s), Senju Tobirama & Uchiha Izuna & Original Nara Character(s), Uchiha Izuna & Uchiha Madara
Comments: 93
Kudos: 437
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts, Reincarnation and Transmigration, oc self insertSI





	1. missing you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meaning of family  
> (Tobirama’s POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neither SIOC knows anything about Naruto - maybe they came from a world without it, or something...

He never thought he’d ever see his brother again. He’d never even dared to whisper it in the darkest corners of his mind, how ludicrous and unlikely it was. 

Naturally, one would think that Tobirama was referring to Hashirama, Kawarama or Itama, when he mentioned the word ‘brother’.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the birds were chirping, and the smell of spring wafted gently on the breeze that ruffled their hair. All four of them had a rare free day off from training and other responsibilities. As it was such a nice day, they decided to spend it playing outside. Tobirama was sitting on the edge of the engawa overlooking the garden, toes curled in the grass. He watched as the other Senju siblings played in the sunlight. Hashirama was wriggling with the wind just like the flowers he was standing in, and Kawarama and Itama were crouched, muttering and pointing while inspecting what looked to be an insect. 

It had been about ten years since Tobirama had been born. Again. He had never been overly religious or believed in reincarnation, really, so it was a big shock indeed when he finally found his bearings.

This time around, he had two younger brothers...and an older brother. It was quite the novel experience being a younger child. Indeed, this time around, he wasn’t the one getting scolded for not being a good example for the younger kids. That, and he was mentally older and more mature. Tobirama had to admit that it was probably the major contributing factor between the two.

Life was… Well, he couldn’t exactly say it was good. He was born into wartime. His first cry rent the air as his kinsmen died on a battlefield far away. 

Tobirama’s world was ridiculously small compared to what he left behind, when he’d once had a different name. His life was divided into training, missions (thankfully low level for now), studies, and spare time - rare as it was. But all of it took place within the Senju walls or with his Senju kinsman. Life was...insular.

He missed living in a diverse and vibrant world. He’d just gotten a NASA internship and part of it required that it be done in America. Pity, he’d been looking forward to it too.

More than that, he missed the bustling cities of his home with people flooding the streets and the eternal sound of traffic that one couldn’t escape - the constant activity. The places where people from all over the world congregated… And the food. What he wouldn’t give for some tamales, curry laksa or even some good old-fashioned pizza. 

But aside from the whole child soldiers, hired mercenaries and murder thing, life was fairly good.

...Now he’d spoiled his mood.

Sighing morosely, he watched Hashirama flop on the ground, the grass depressing beneath his weight. His older brother let out the air in his lungs in one great _‘whoomp’_ , groaning as Kawarama and Itama jumped on his back. They scrambled into a comfortable position (eliciting more groans and an almost inaudible whimper for help in Tobirama’s direction, which was summarily ignored), and announced their supremacy over Hashirama.

As his younger brothers crowed their victory, a smile reluctantly found its way onto Tobirama’s lips. 

No matter the world he was in or what life he was living, Tobirama had always treasured family. It was cheesy, but it was true: family would always be there for you, support you, and love you no matter what. There were no conditions, no bargains or petitions. It was just there. An undeniable, unshakeable fact of life. 

Although, he supposed, he had to admit that his experience of family was luckier than most. 

Family would always be held close to his heart and he would give anything for them, even his life. 

And he had. Tobirama never regretted it. He could recognise that from a certain angle, it was also a somewhat selfish decision. He could weather any storm, face any problem as long as he had his family at his back. He wouldn’t, no, he couldn’t live in a world without his family. He couldn’t be the one left behind. 

Tobirama’s thoughts turned back to the hazy half-remembered recollections from Before. He had...he had had siblings then too. He was the eldest, and then there were the twins. 

His brother… _Darren_. He was a clever and a charismatic talker, with a sharp wit and keen mind, perfect for his choice of careers. Tobirama closed his eyes. He’d remembered that he’d been studying to become a lawyer. As a child, he’d sit on the floor in front of the TV, enthralled by the verbal smackdowns and manipulations from sharp-tongues lawyers in old re-runs. He loved how the best lawyers could sneakily make the opposing attorney or the plaintiff and defendant admit to something they’d have preferred to have stayed in the shadows. 

His...his sister, her name was _Haile_ _y_ . She’d been doing Medicine at University and was so compassionate, considerate, and _kin_ _d_. When she was just learning to read and stumbling over her letters, she’d found a copy of the Hippocratic Oath, and from then on, those words had governed her actions. Her whole life she was always looking for an opportunity to assist somebody - anything from volunteering, dropping spare change in a homeless person’s cup, or driving two hours to pick up a drunk friend at 3am in the morning.

Sometimes, when flashes of shared laughter at inside jokes their parents weren’t privy to, sing-a-longs on road trips, or sibling dog piles, went through his mind like a kunai in his shoulder (he knew firsthand what it felt like...in excruciating detail), he would find it a struggle to breathe.

“Ehh?” Kawarama’s shout brought him out of his darkening thoughts, “Tobirama-anija, what are you still doing over there?”

“Come join us!” Itama chirped, clapping his grass-stained hands together.

That’s right, they were there too. Although his first siblings had left a hole in his heart, Tobirama had to remind himself that Hashirama, Kawarama and Itama were there. They were still family, just a little different now.

His brothers’ shouts had Hashirama turning his head to also see Tobirama was still sitting on the engawa. 

“Please?” Hashirama’s eyes were wide and guileless.

Tobirama felt his willpower crumble and nodded, pushing himself off the engawa to pad barefoot in the grass towards his siblings. After all, he had three living brothers just waiting from him to join them.

The sound of giggles, squeals and high-pitched peals of heartfelt laughter echoed in the fading daylight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s a little Les Mis reference :)


	2. possibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeds of hope are planted  
> (Tobirama’s POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”

The Senju stood across from the Uchiha.

Heart pounding and blood rushing in his ears, Tobirama stood at the edge of the battlefield. Every battlefield looked the same to him. Different faces and symbols, but both sides still attacked with ferocity. Mercy did not exist in a shinobi’s reality, especially against enemies. Swords clashed, jutsu was cast and the same red blood spilled from a thousand wounds.

Honestly, Tobirama was tired of this. They all needed therapy and a personal psychiatrist and psychologist. All the medical professionals. He’d be the first in line for having to deal with this nonsense, no coercion needed.

In this moment, what Tobirama really wanted was a nap. The afternoon was sweltering - the perfect level of oppressive heat to make his mind slow and fill instead with thoughts of his bed. Drowsy, he would curl up under the covers, blanket pulled up to just under his chin and close his eyes. There was nothing like drifting off only to be met with the comforting embrace of sleep. He’d awaken an hour later, rejuvenated for the remainder of the day. A true siren’s call.

It was truly the perfect circumstances for a revitalising nap.

Instead, the sun stood high in the sky and cast barely any shadows. The sun-heated air shimmered over patches of empty grass. It would soon be running with rivers of blood and with fallen kinsmen and foes alike lining its newly formed banks. Tobirama felt sweat bead on his temple and roll down, sticky and slow. The harsh glare of the sun pierced through any sleepiness he felt and relaxed his muscles. Good for the impending battle, he supposed.

Squinting, he picked out his rival from the field of Uchiha, all sporting the same dark purple colours and some wearing armour. Izuna was there, languidly standing next to Madara and guarding his back before the inevitable rush to greet his foe, Sharingan active and freshly sharpened sword at the ready.

Today wasn’t noteworthy in any way, aside from the above average temperature. It was probably going to play out exactly as it had a hundred other times before this, and as it will a hundred times after.

The signal to charge would go off - oh, there it was. He was running now, chakra enhancing his movements. Both clans would rush to meet each other in a sea of clashing bodies, and he’d carve his way through countless Uchiha to meet Izuna, and Izuna to him.

(His strikes were efficient, quick, and painless - murder was despicable enough without adding unnecessary suffering. Even though the Uchiha were enemies, they were people too and deserved respect. Tobirama would never forget that. If he did, he would truly deserve that repulsive moniker.)

Izuna would proceed to do his level best to decapitate or otherwise fatally injure Tobirama through attempts to outsmart him. Tobirama had to give it to him, Izuna was hard to beat because he was tricky.

The sounds of a river rushing over jagged stones filled the battlefield as the yells of the two clans joined together in a cacophony, smoothing out to indistinct static.

Tobirama dispassionately swung his sword down on Izuna’s unguarded head. As he had carefully calculated, Izuna dodged it at the last second with the predictive powers of his clan’s doujutsu. But it was not entirely successful, as it lodged in his shoulder before it was extracted as painfully as possible by Tobirama pulling it back to ready himself for the next attack, thus giving him more time (Tobirama wanted to avoid killing as much as he could - and Izuna was so young).

Children didn’t deserve to die; you’d have to be an actual monster to believe that.

What was not carefully calculated, and the outlier in the so far formulaic battlefield interactions, was the string of expletives that tumbled from Izuna’s mouth as he backed away by a couple of paces to give himself more room.

The expletives themselves were not the thing that made Tobirama’s heart seize in his chest so violently he idly wondered in the part of his brain that wasn’t rapidly losing brain cells because of the panic, if he wasn’t undergoing cardiac arrest. It was that Izuna said them in a language that Tobirama had thought was left behind the barrier between life and death. Of a language that Tobirama had thought existed only in his head.

But as Izuna continued turning the air blue...that accent...that _specific_ phrasing… Tobirama had only known one person to speak like that. Death was a pretty final goodbye, so it wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be possible.

There was no way Izuna could be Darren.

His little brother whom he’d swore to protect a lifetime ago.

There was no way that Tobirama would be that lucky to have a brother back (not after he lost two more of them in this life. Kawarama and Itama were so young…). The odds were astronomical. Not only were they born into the same world, but at the same time period to be able to meet…

Confusion swirled inside him and his mind backtracked.

But if that were true...he’d been attacking his brother. What was he-

He couldn’t-

Couldn’t breathe-

Tobirama backed away too, stumbling over the uneven ground. His eyes were blown wide at the horror of the thought and his already pale skin rapidly whitening as all the blood diverted to his brain to figure out just what was happening. Izuna was sneering at him now and taunting him but Tobirama couldn’t hear what he was saying. He might as well have been speaking another language, for all Tobirama could understand (anything) at that moment.

But just as Izuna gathered chakra to his mouth, hand coming up in the Tiger seal in preparation for a Katon Jutsu, Tobirama could only gasp and blurt out the single thought his mind kept returning to.

“Darren?”

It was barely audible, but those two syllables made all the difference. Now, it was Izuna’s turn to flumble. His Sharingan-red eyes bulged, and he choked on the Katon Jutsu he had been preparing, smoke coming out instead. Coughing through the lingering wisps of smoke, he stared blankly at Tobirama.

The forest was silent as the two shinobi forgot all their training and goggled at each other like civilian children.

A loud shout: the Senju issued a retreat. The signal blasted through the fog of confusion as exploding tags placed on solid stone. On autopilot, Tobirama turned and ran, mind still awhirl.

But even as he leapt away on chakra enhanced legs, he turned to look over his shoulder just in time to see Madara jump and land next to Izuna. He watched as Madara gently felt around Izuna’s injured shoulder and asked Izuna “What’s wrong? What did the White Demon do to you?” Izuna simply brushed him off, attention clearly focussed elsewhere. Then, the Uchiha signalled a retreat too and Izuna left along with the rest of his kinsman.

When he got back home, Tobirama was going to think about what it all meant.

Tomorrow.

He really needed a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is gonna have Izuna! Tobirama’s been hogging all the attention so far, so to balance it out, I thought it was about time Izuna got some too.


	3. hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuna's Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”
> 
> Izuna's POV

Izuna hacked harder at the training dummy.

It had been a week since he met Senju Tobirama in battle in the latest violent convergence of the Uchiha and Senju clans. 

_“_ _Darren._ _”_

That’s what the White Demon had called him.

A fluke. It was most likely a coincidental combination of two syllables that just happened to sound like his name. (Izuna tried to ignore that intonation didn’t match the flow of the standard tongue, even though the sounds did exist.)

With a jarringly loud _crack_ the dummy broke and sprayed wood chips in every direction. 

Izuna tossed his bokken aside carelessly as he went to replace it, his mind scrutinising the mental replay of the Sharingan-recorded battle. 

He had frozen on the battlefield.

God, how could he be so stupid! Better shinobi than he had died from far less. He hadn’t made such a rookie mistake since his training days. Tajima would never have let him out on the battlefield if he knew that Izuna even had the slightest chance of freezing up.

Fight, flight or freeze was only for civilians. It was fight, flight or die if you were a shinobi. Especially an Uchiha facing off against a Senju. 

Yet the terror of the Uchiha, the monster lurking in every shadow that Uchiha mothers whispered warnings of to their children and was so fearsome to make even the most troublesome and mischievous Uchiha brat straighten up, didn’t take advantage of him just standing there. Like an idiot. It was the perfect opportunity.

Senju Tobirama had disappeared a few years back and then had returned as a Fuuinjutsu prodigy. Rumours said he was sent to be trained in Uzushio by the best Fuuinjutsu masters around: the Uzumaki. Regardless of the veracity of that statement, the Senju was as good as any Uzumaki when it came to Fuuinjutsu. But even the Senju wouldn’t have needed seals in that moment.

It would have been easy. Two steps forward and a swing of the sword, and Senju Tobirama would have removed his fiercest enemy from the playing field. One step closer to thinning the ranks of the Uchiha enough to weaken them irreparably. 

His death would have been a great blow to Tajima’s reputation. 

As much as Tajima (the heartless fucker would never replace his father) would like to deny it, what did it say to watchful eyes that Tajima had lost four of his sons. Sure, the life of a shinobi was one wrought with death, but if practically all of the main family’s sons from one of the strongest clans in Fire Country were dead… What did it say about the standards? Were the Uchiha getting weaker? Other clans would surely take the opportunity to attack, not to mention the Senju would leap at the chance. So many people would die.

But Izuna’s death would have _broken_ Nii-san. 

He had lost three brothers already. Izuna had been one of five of the Uchiha main clan siblings. There had been Shinra-nii, Tobio-nii, and Renji aside from Nii-san. 

It had been Shinra-nii first. Shinra-nii was the oldest of them. Izuna remembered him through the haze of time naturally distorting anything not recorded perfectly with their Sharingan. Shinra-nii and Madara-nii used to parade Izuna all around the Uchiha compound, still young enough to be swaddled in blankets. Shinra-nii would be the one to check on Izuna when he was sent to his room with no dinner after throwing a tantrum when Tajima said something really derogatory or morally bereft. He’d snuck him chunks of rice and sticky pieces of fish that he’d shoved into his pocket during dinner, and revealed it to a fuming and sulking Izuna with a dramatic flourish of his hand. It had always been covered in a few flecks of dust, but Shinra-nii always plucked them off, making a grand gesture of trying to hide it from Izuna. Izuna always ate the pocket food with a grumpy smile, recognising the unspoken love and dedication in it (and also to spite Tajima.)

Shinra-nii had also always brought him candy when he came back from his missions. First thing he’d do after debriefing with Tajima and the Elders was creep into Izuna’s room and leave the present on his bed. Izuna was never sure if Tajima knew whether or not Shinra-nii was buying him gifts, so he always made sure to hide it. Then he’d run to give Shinra-nii thanks in the only way he knew would not alert Tajima: giving him the biggest hug and making sure to squeeze extra tight. Shinra-nii never failed to recognise the hug for the gratitude that it was. (Izuna knew that finding any time to go shopping on missions had to be difficult - especially if he was doing it without Tajima’s knowledge or permission.)

The image of what they managed to retrieve of Shinra-nii’s broken and mangled corpse lying in that plain, mass-produced and unfeeling wooden coffin, was a frequent visitor in his nightmares.

Tobio-nii was the closest thing to a mother that he had in this life. Uchiha Mitsuki was always distant and never there - flitting around the rooms like a ghost, thus it fell to Tobio-nii. Tobio-nii always made sure that everybody had eaten, their wounds were patched up, and the mission packs were fully stocked. At this point, only Shinra-nii and Tobio-nii were old enough to be authorised to leave on missions. It was Tobio-nii who comforted him after he woke screaming in the middle of the night, confused and haunted by the images of things that didn’t exist in this world. He would lift a still screaming Izuna and place him in his lap. Then, Tobio-nii would gently wrap his arms around him and rock slowly back and forth humming a lullaby, until Izuna’s tears dried off and he fell back asleep. No matter what time of the night it was, or the countless times Izuna told him that he didn’t need to, Tobio-nii always came.

Tobio-nii was also who he’d turn to if he had problems with his studies. He would always find time to patiently sit down with Izuna and carefully explain the questions. Izuna had found it hard adjusting to a different life and trying to integrate a completely alien set of morals - more adjusted to the innocent civilians’ lifestyle of which he had been, than to the bloodsoaked path of a shinobi.

And it was Tobio-nii whom they’d turned too - now the oldest. He had held their little (littler, now) family together, taking on the role of mother as their own fell to grief. 

(Uchiha Mitsuki had never been the same since.)

When Tobio-nii’s squad returned without him, Izuna cried nonstop for three days. In the end, the healers had to sedate him. 

Perhaps it was Renji’s death that had hurt the most. He was only a few months old when the attack came. He hadn’t even had a chance at truly living before it was stolen from him. It was the Hyuuga, enraged at the death of their clan heir at the hands of Tajima, that had snuck in during a festival celebrating life. While their people had been out celebrating, a team of four made their way to the main house and killed them when the fireworks had gone off - their screams inaudible over the deafening explosions and cheers. 

A hungover partygoer had stumbled into the main house by accident the next morning and found Uchiha Mitsuki, cradled over her son, a sword piercing them both in a pool of dried blood. Another casualty of another feud. 

Tajima had taken great pleasure in slaughtering them after hours of torture.

(Izuna had no tears left after the funeral.)

Never had Izuna regretted more that he hadn’t awakened the Sharingan until years later when the realisation that he was actually stuck here in this nightmare of a world, fully hit him. He was Uchiha Izuna and Darren Okumura, and he had always lived in a world of lost potential, and lost family.

He had lost _four_ brothers. 

His dumbass older brother Ryan had carried him out of the fire. Just a few more steps and both of them would have been safe. 

If only the fallen debris hadn’t broken his leg.

Izuna would have died, trapped and choking, if not for him. Standing in the open doorway with the rising tongues of flame behind him, he thought that an angel had come for him. But as the figure stepped forward, Izuna recognised their face. 

It was his older brother. 

Ryan had heard his hoarse whispers and immediately ran through the burning home to get him. 

He twisted to look up at his brother as crouched next to him. Brows furrowed and eyes narrowed in a face of determination, Ryan lifted the debris pinning him to the ground, uncaring of the blooming burns searing its way into his skin and tossed it to the side. 

When Izuna said he couldn’t walk, Ryan had simply picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. 

In that moment he had never felt more reassured in a way he hadn’t since he was a little kid. His big brother was here, and that meant everything was ok. 

That was when the roof caved in. 

Only steps away from the open entrance, smoke had finally eroded its foundations and the fire had damaged the integrity of the walls enough. As the cracking sounded, Ryan only spared a brief glance up before acting. 

With a deafening _woosh_ , the roof fell on top of them, even as Ryan swung him off his shoulder and tossed him, the momentum carrying him through the air, out the open door onto the grass outside.

Izuna had only enough time to sit up and watch in horror as the building collapsed on top of his brother. 

His brother had smiled then, gentle and soft with a touch of regret, before the raining debris and dust covered him. 

In the end, everything was ok. Just not for his older brother. The fire took his brother, and it would have taken him too.

(He found it ironically funny now, that fire was a comfort. It had taken years of desensitisation to be able to even be near a flame, much less the fact that being an Uchiha was synonymous to being surrounded by fire _all the time_. Finding out his chakra affinity had been the opposite of a pleasant experience.)

If his leg hadn’t been broken, maybe his brother would have lived. Even now, the knife’s-edge sharp pain of loss hadn’t dulled, and each new death all mixed together until all that was left was the guilt of surviving. 

Each and every time, he had gotten years more than any of his brothers. Why had he not only lived once, but twice, when his brothers hadn’t even reached their late teenaged years? 

It wasn’t fair. 

Death didn’t discriminate, not when it came to Ryan, Shinra-nii, Tobio-nii, and Renji, it just takes, and it takes, and it takes. 

But we keep living anyway.

Shinra-nii and Tobio-nii had barely been in their teenage years when they were killed. Renji hadn’t even gotten one. 

God, at least Ryan had been an adult when he’d died.

Even so, there was still so much lost potential. Ryan had had his whole life ahead of him. He had studied and scraped and saved until he had gotten a NASA internship - his childhood dream. Ryan always had his nose buried in one kind of book or scientific article - infinitely curious about how the world worked; what made it turn and the mechanisms inside. He’d read anything from particle physics to the American Constitution. In the last few months leading up to the application, he’d studied so hard that they had barely seen him. He even studied right through Christmas! 

His brother was truly one of a kind. The sort of genius that comes once a generation.

The most amazing thing was that he got the internship. Oh, Izuna never had any doubts, but it was still so amazing to watch his brother’s face light up as he read the acceptance email. It was all over his face, wide smile and shining eyes and he danced around the room hollering at the top of his lungs (even though they’d gotten a noise complaint afterwards): it had been worth every minute of preparation.

All of that gone in just a few short minutes. 

It was only him and Madara-nii now, simply ‘Nii-san’ because he only had _one_ brother left. One precious brother. One last chance.

Izuna wasn’t so naive now. He’d make sure Nii-san survived no matter what.

Older brothers were still only human after all. 

* * *

_Nii-san had been looking happy recently._

_Suspicious…_

_One would think that it was a good thing, but Nii-san hadn’t acted so freely (although still guarded - Shinobi were never completely at ease) since Shinra-nii’s funeral._

_Therefore, something had to be up._

_It had been months, almost a year since Nii-san started his private training sessions._

_Once or twice a week, Nii-san would leave the Uchiha grounds to go hone his skills in private. Loud, flashy, and big, his attacks were extremely destructive, so it was a relief to hear that Nii-san was working on control. A couple of Uchiha that happened to be using the same training grounds had even been injured the last time Nii-san had visited. So that was the reason that no one complained when Nii-san said he was finding a secluded place to train alone._

_Izuna was glad that his brother was getting better. The stronger Nii-san was the better chance he had at staying alive._

_(Although he feared for Nii-san. Sometimes power and strength attracted unsavoury things - his reputation would grow, and enemies would seek his death, not only to eliminate a threat before it became big enough, but to also prove their own worth against a fearsome opponent.)_

_However, lately Nii-san refused to tell him what he was doing when he was training by himself. Back when he first started, he would return home with a face full of soot and clothes absolutely covered in dirt, and cheerfully tell Izuna all about his newest achievements of that day._

_Now, Nii-san always looked cagey when Izuna asked him how it went and refused to answer exactly, only giving vague answers when he did deign to respond. One time, when Izuna asked if he could accompany Nii-san on his training trip just one time to see him practise (Izuna had a day off and wanted to spend time with his brother), he had been gruffly refuted._

_But Nii-san was looking happier._

_How could Izuna deny his brother any happiness? The life of a shinobi was a dark path and tears were more common than smiles. Nii-san also improved rapidly, honing skills that should be impossible to be achieved by himself._

_Nii-san had met someone._

_That was dangerous. Izuna knew that in this world, you could only trust your clansmen. The only time you could be safe and let your guard down was when you were around them. It was too dangerous otherwise._

_Perched in a tree, hidden from the boy and Nii-san, he watched as they sparred on the banks of the Naka river._

_He made up his mind._

_The other boy might be a child, but no shinobi was only ever truly a child. They were warriors, fighters, and killers above all else._

_He couldn’t hope to protect his brother against any who would mean him harm, all by himself. No, he needed backup._

_Izuna had to tell Tajima._

_Nii-san might never trust him again, but at least he would be_ alive _to never trust him again._

_Looking at the boy’s brother as they crossed blades (the first of many times to come), he could see the same resolve in his eyes and in the snarl of his face - scared not for himself, but for his older brother._

_Senju Tobirama…that was someone whom he could respect._

* * *

Izuna frowned as he readied his stance, before unleashing a barrage of blows too fast to be seen without the Uchiha’s famed doujutsu onto the new training dummy.

But despite everything, the Senju’s reaction to his own response, his own clear distress at the recognition...it had been one of sheer horror. He had been genuinely scared and with the Sharingan active, he had seen the minute traces of guilt and a thousand other unreadable emotions flickering in that expression slackened from shock. 

He had been so off balanced that he had actually met the gaze of an active Sharingan. 

The Ghost of the Senju had never _ever_ made the mistake of looking an Uchiha in the eyes, much less the only Uchiha who could match him in skill and speed.

Everyone knew that the Senju were vicious, ruthless animals that would never rest until the Uchiha were decimated. The Senju would see them buried (not cremated - dishonourable monsters that didn’t respect the ancient traditions) and would see their every mention wiped from existence like the blight and plague that they were. 

Izuna hated to admit that the Uchiha were just as bad. 

Dehumanising and fear-mongering tactics in propaganda were clearly universal. Or multiverse-ful, in this analogy. Their own actions were warped and liberally mixed with outright lies, to destabilise power structures. He knew of entire countries and whole governments succumbing to ruin, their fall from grace immortalised in history books for millennia to come.

The dichotomy of the shinobi lifestyle was as such: never trust anything you’ve read or heard on a mission because it could be faulty in one way or another and you’d pay for that mistake with you and your kinsmen’s lives. However, you should always blindly trust the instructions and information of the Elders and Clan Head. 

Because that made so much sense. 

(He’d been fortunate that seeing through bullshit had always been a talent of his, no matter whichever name he carries).

Izuna was avoiding the issue.

He didn’t want to admit it, but as the saying from Before went: _‘_ _when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. '_

Well, no shit, Sherlock. He just didn’t like the conclusion of what the clues added up to.

He couldn’t ignore that. Not only because any piece of missed or incorrect information could lead to death for a shinobi, but also because Izuna could smell a mystery and it _irked_ him. 

Izuna wasn’t going to let the last ember of hope flicker out because he had chosen not to even try.

It might be foolish of Izuna to harbour hope the Senju was _him_.

It was hard to even entertain the thought that the ruthless, fierce Senju Demon was his brother. The same brother who had pushed him on the swing when he was a kid. The same brother who had patiently explained his math homework when he had trouble with the questions. The same brother that pulled him close and whispered promises of eternal love the day his girlfriend broke up with him.

The Ghost of the Senju. White Demon of Uchiha nightmares.

Yet he couldn’t deny that Senju Tobirama’s actions had changed, and that meant something. 

* * *

Izuna had been acting strange and as his older brother, Madara had noticed. 

It had been the latest fight - this time against the Senju. Izuna and his rival had fought like they normally did, then Senju Tobirama had said something to Izuna and he had _frozen_. 

His brother had _frozen on the battlefield_ against the _White Demon_ , scourge of the Uchiha. 

Madara’s heart nearly stopped when he spotted it with his meagre chakra sensing. It was not as good as the Ghost’s, but he was decent enough to keep an eye on his brother during battle. He had paired off against Hashirama like he always did, the idiot sprouting his usual nonsense about peace and their village. Didn’t he know that it was a useless endeavour? Their clans were simply too different, and too entrenched in a cycle of never-ending hatred perpetrated by those so far removed from the bloody reality on the battlefield.

Years later, Madara couldn’t help but agree with Hashirama’s words so long ago. That it was the adults’ fault that children were sent into battle. It was always those most vulnerable - too trusting of their parents and falsely secure in the knowledge that adults will always have the children’s best interests at heart. 

_“If we master all sorts of jutsu and get stronger, the adults won't be able to ignore our words anymore."_

_"We have got to master many jutsu to cover any weaknesses. Well, I am stronger than most adults around me already."_

_"No kidding? I'm impressed."_

Madara had known of Uchiha dying in agony for the pointless war, insistent that their sacrifice had been necessary. Told from the cradle of the eternal glory and _necessity_ of dying for their clan.

Biggest load of bullshit that he’s ever heard. 

As a child, finding someone who was _just like him_ was pure serendipity. Despite the years and animosity between them now, Madara still ached with a desperate want for a place without war. 

A place where Izuna can live happily. 

It was plain misfortune that their dream had been destroyed before it ever had a chance by the simple fact that they had been born to sworn enemies. 

Sometimes, when his thoughts were loud and veins filled with guilt, he thought back to those days and he _ached_ with a desperate want. Like termites gnawing away nonstop on the walls of a house, it consumed him. Then Madara would get up, throw the traitorous thoughts into a box, and shove them down as far in repression.

There was no sense living in a fantasy.

Madara shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He was getting distracted. Izuna had frozen on the battlefield and then almost immediately after, the Senju had frozen too. His brother had seemed off even as the Senju called for a retreat. He still seemed off during the trip back home.

His brother refused to say a word about what happened and Madara had thought that was it. He was sadly mistaken.

The unusual behaviour had continued.

Izuna was always frowning while muttering to himself and pacing around the house like he was following a path that he couldn’t find the exit to. This wasn’t at all like him. 

After facing off against that Senju, Madara could always find him bragging to all his friends about the latest trick the Senju had used in their battle and how he, armed only with his sword and his brains, outwitted the ruthless monster and narrowly escaped death.

Madara clenched his fist. If that Senju had done something to his baby brother, he would pay dearly, no matter if he was ~~his friend’s~~ the tree’s brother or not.

His family came first.

Just as he firmly promised himself that, Madara rounded the corner and walked into the training room. Izuna were there, furiously hacking away at a training dummy, another one destroyed beside it.

“Izuna! There you are!” Madara’s newly arrived presence clearly interrupted his (only) brother’s thoughts. 

“Nii-san,” acknowledged Izuna without halting his now disturbingly over-violent one-man crusade against an inanimate object. 

Madara hesitated, “Are you ok? You’ve been off lately.”

Back stiffening, Izuna paused in his training becoming unnaturally still. “What do you mean by that?” He said in a dangerously icy voice. Madara didn’t like this. When Izuna used that voice, it meant that he should tread carefully or he’ll find all the inariage in the area gone (there had been no inarizushi for a _week_ ), or there’ll be frogs in his bed again (he preferred the frogs).

“Well I-, I mean-” he spluttered before trailing off. 

“Yes, Nii-san?” He smiled like he was planning exactly how Madara’s head would look like on a stake, crawled its way up his lips.

Madara felt sweat bead up. He might be one of the strongest shinobi in Fire Country, but he would always find his baby brother scary. 

His baby brother always had a vindictive streak - if you prodded it then you would suffer tenfold. It really wasn’t worth the trouble. Izuna was cunning and sly and smart and he could make your life hell and destroy it so completely that you’d regret your very existence

...Perhaps Madara was being dramatic.

Madara took a chance. Gathered his courage and took a deep breath. “You’ve been acting weird lately. You should go see the healers. If the Ghost did something to you…”

He trailed off, at the deranged smile growing wider on Izuna’s face as he cocked his head to the side.

“Please repeat yourself for me Nii-san. _I am perfectly fine._ I think I heard you say that I needed to see the healers. _I must have heard wrong_.”

Alarm bells rung, the sound echoing in his head. Madara’s memories were correct (oh, why had he ever doubted the sanctity of the Sharingan). He was NOT being dramatic. He was going to die, murdered by his baby brother in his own compound. 

But Madara was a smart man. He’d find a way out. 

“Uh, yes. You are correct.” He eyed the closest exit. “Uh, I have to go now. I just remembered that I had to go and sharpen the broomsticks **.** _Gottagobyeloveyou_!” 

Madara totally wasn’t running away. He was just...making a tactical retreat. It was strategic. Live to fight another day, and all that.

Izuna turned back to his training dummy and attacked it more violently than before, ignoring him. 

Madara shuddered.

Something must be really wrong if Izuna didn’t make fun of him for that horrible excuse - it didn’t even make sense! Still, Madara didn’t question his good fortune. 

Madara would just have to keep watch over Izuna.

From far away, _very_ far away just to be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quotes are from the english sub of Naruto Shippuden episode 367.
> 
> Also, Izuna (and Tobirama) think of themselves not as Darren and Ryan Okumura anymore, but as who they are now. So even when thinking about past events, they will use their current names.


	4. reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Possibility confirmed  
> (Tobirama’s POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”

Tobirama was confused.

After the battle he had studiously avoided the other Senju, especially his Anija. Tobirama hadn’t been in the mood to deal with his older brother’s suffocating personality. 

He had returned to their house exhausted, weary, and more confused than he had ever been, and had immediately collapsed in his bed too tired to change out of his armour for a well-needed nap. Hours later, the white haired Senju blinked red eyes open and stared blankly at the plain ceiling. While his exhaustion and weariness had dissipated leaving him physically refreshed, the confusion filling every crevice of his mind and thoughts hadn’t abated one bit. Tobirama was just as confused as when he went to sleep. To add insult to injury, he had acquired an excruciating headache.

Perhaps working on his inventions would help. It was always a nice distraction.

Yawning, Tobirama rolled off the warm bed (its embrace still calling) and stripped off his armour mechanically in the darkened room. Barefooted and clad in a soft black shirt and pants, he strolled across the main house towards the garden and his lab.

In the hall, dust specks floated in and out of sunbeams. Eyes narrowed at the throbbing in his head, he scowled and looked out the window. It must have been a longer nap than usual, seeing as it was the next day. Belatedly, he registered _sunlight/forest/verdant_ barreling towards him speeds that should be impossible for normal people. But the man whose chakra it belonged to certainly wasn’t normal by any stretch of the meaning. Tobirama had just enough presence of mind to look around the hallway (no exits!) right before that man rounded the corner. 

“Tobira!” wailed Hashirama-anija as he skidded to a stop on the wooden floors in an unfortunately successful attempt to fling himself at Tobirama.

“No,” said Tobirama firmly as he tried unsuccessfully to peel off his newly acquired barnacle.

“But you haven’t even said ‘Good morning’ yet!” The older Senju complained. A child less than half his age was more mature. 

In a voice drier than Suna’s deserts, Tobirama decided to indulge in his brother’s pedantic quirk. “Good morning, Anija.” He received a blinding smile for that, and combined with the other Senju’s exuberant demeanour, it carved a path straight to his retina. The pounding in his head got stronger. “Now please leave me alone. I need to go to my lab.”

“Please.” At the realisation that the most stubborn man ever wasn’t going to back down (he should have known better - Anija still insisted on peace with the same enthusiasm as always despite years of increasingly harsh rejections from the man he called his ‘best friend’), Tobirama tried a different tactic. In a softer voice (that also helped his increasingly worsening headache - an added benefit), he almost begged. “I’ve got work to do.”

Something must have shown in his expression or voice, because the barnacle masquerading as a man pulled back. The grin on his face was fading away, only to be replaced with concern. 

Tobirama could never hide being in pain from his brother. As an older brother three times over, he knew that they were naturally attuned to the states of their siblings. They meticulously catalogued each expression and action and investigated any deviances. It was a natural fact of life for older brothers, Tobirama mused, when you know them better than they do themselves. Seeing each habit form even before the baby could think in coherent thoughts. Indeed, that is what happened when you have watched over them from the very beginning; when they were swaddled in blankets and still tiny enough to be clutched to a chest. Younger siblings were a precious burden that he has never once regretted carrying.

It also didn’t help his cause that he was talking to Senju Hashirama, the creator of Iryo-ninjutsu and a skilled healer in his own right.

“Tobirama? Something’s wrong.” Strong hands clasped his shoulders in a firm grip. Even Tobirama with all his crafty inventions could not escape him, not when his older brother got serious. “Is everything ok?”

The pale wraith, so fearsome that entire clans ran upon even the slightest whisper of his presence, hesitated. He debated telling him the truth - that his mental state was the worst that it has ever been, and to top it off, he had a splitting headache. Tobirama was no stranger to destroying himself through late-night work binges, but to admit that his current state was off the charts in terms of pain...Anija would be disappointed. The older Senju would think that he’d disobeyed him, broke his promise about 'not working yourself to _death_ , Tobirama!’

The younger Senju couldn’t tell him that it was actually- 

Utterly ridiculous! The very idea was impossible and insane. Besides, how could Tobirama even begin to explain it? His brother would think he was mad. Hell, _he_ would think he was mad.

No, it was better not to...

“Hmm. It is nothing, Anija.” His older brother didn’t look convinced in the least. “It is of no concern.”

Instead of reassuring him, Hashirama-anija fretted as he wrung his hands together. 

“I am fine.” The younger of the two tried again. “Please, leave me alone.” 

“Noooooo~” It was astonishing even after all this time, how small his older brother could make himself look when he curled down to the ground in a tight ball. There was even an appropriately heavy depressed atmosphere around the miserable ball of sadness.

A guilt trip. This was a guilt trip. How dare his brother use such underhanded tricks.

Tobirama warily eyed the two eternally stray locks of hair flopping around, as the older Senju peeked through his fingers at him in what he thought was a sneaky maneuver. With dignity of course. Anija was never undignified. 

(Tobirama stifled a laugh. The only reason he didn’t actually do so was because it would have made his headache worse. It wasn’t at all because Hashirama-anija was inordinately proud of his ‘long and luscious hair’ (in his own words). Tobirama shook his head, his brother was such a preening peacock.)

The red-eyed Senju took a few cautious steps around the ball of shinobi. But alas to his soul-crushing despair, it wasn’t to be. As soon as he had gotten within grabbing distance, his older (and significantly less mature) brother latched on to his right leg.

Step. Drag. The flooring squeaked. Step. Drag. The flooring squeaked again.

The younger Senju had taken only a couple of steps before realising that the extra appendage looking pitifully up at him, was permanent. Hashirama was not going to let this go, neither his leg nor the mystery. In fact, Tobirama squinted through the stabbing in his skull, down at the _thing_ attached to his leg, his older brother was actually beginning to look genuinely hurt the more Tobirama rebuffed his worry.

He sighed. Anija won this time. 

“...I have a headache.”

The White Demon would rather surrender unconditionally to the Uchiha or face the Kaguya clan alone without reinforcements, before he would explain this psychotic theory of his.

“What!” Exclaimed Hashirama-anija as he popped back to his feet in a well-practised motion. The protective older brother emerged from the idiotic facade. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Comforting hands tenderly crushed him to a broad chest, even as Tobirama half-heartedly struggled and mumbled some token protests. 

Giving up, Tobirama breathed in the smell of nature and petrichor, the scent signalling security. As long as the older Senju was around, nothing would ever harm him. 

“You really need to take better care of yourself, otouto,” was crooned softly in his ear as glowing green hands gently stroked his scalp.

They stayed that way for a few minutes more than was needed but neither spoke up, instead just enjoying the moment. 

In the end, eyes soft in an unreadable emotion, Anija was the one to pull away first, letting green hands fade back to normal. He grasped the younger and searched his face for any traces of pain left, before taking a step back. “Better now?” His older brother chirped eerily similar to the birds he attracted when he played with his Mokuton in the garden. 

* * *

_“Look, Tobira!”_

_The boy in question turned around still holding the scroll he was reading from, only to see a flock of birds. The horrific bowl-cut peeking out from the vaguely child-shaped pile let Tobirama know exactly who was buried underneath. The scroll was hastily tossed to the side._

_“Anija!”_

* * *

Tobirama’s eyes flicked up to the side as he judged his mental state. Once he assessed that the headache was not going to make a surprise reappearance, the white-haired Senju walked past his brother.

“Thank you, Anija. But I really do need to leave now.”

“Aw,” pouted the overgrown child, “but Tobiraaaaaa, I wanted to show you-”

“Not now, Anija.” He raised a hand in careless acknowledgement as he continued on without looking back once. Hashirama-anija trailed after him, silent. If the white-haired Senju looked behind him he would have seen the serious expression on his usually cheery features.

Then doom spoke up from behind him.

“We’re talking about it later.” 

Tobirama froze in his tracks, nodded then slammed shut the lab doors behind him, the seals covering the walls of the lab activating. He was sure to be scolded like a misbehaving wayward toddler later.

Anija was the type of person that required repeated exposure to befriend. He grew on you much the same way that mould does. Yet, all in all, Anija was an overbearing buffoon, and god help him, but Tobirama loved his brother. 

(Tobirama wouldn’t have it any other way.)

* * *

Sighing, he relaxed in the familiar and soothing environment. 

His lab was his haven, his short and treasured reprieve from the outside world. Inventing had always been a source of comfort for him. There was nobody to criticise him or interrupt him (once the seals were activated) and it reminded him of the countless Engineering labs and practicals that he’d taken in University. 

Tobirama searched through the piles of messy notes trying to find the teleportation jutsu he was working on halfway. As a little boy the first time around, he had been enamoured by spaceships and aliens like those on Star Trek (he blamed his siblings for that obsession - always begging him with puppy eyes to come and watch with them). And well, what sci-fi geek didn’t dream of instantaneous transport? Theoretical physicists would be so jealous.

‘Chakra was such a bullshit cheat’, as his younger brother Before would have said. Tobirama couldn’t deny that but having it at your disposal to shape and use was simply exhilarating. Mind-blowing. He was literally living in a fantasy world and he had every intention to take advantage of it. Chakra had so many possibilities and it could be used for so much good. But humans never failed to twist creation into destruction. 

Thus, Tobirama’s mind had been turned to more...lethal inventions. It was the only way that Butsuma would allow him a lab, even one as small, cramped and stocked with only the most basic of equipment as it was. Most of the more complex things he’d had to recreate for himself. 

And if he created some non-shinobi related things, well no-one had to know. 

At least chakra-fueled ninjutsu could be used in non-lethal ways. A Suiton could easily be modified to water crops, a Raiton could be used to generate electricity...there was so much potential.

The modern weaponry of his past life was different.

It was the difference between a cooking knife and a gun. The knife, like any other tool, is in how you wield it. It is used to feed your family, but if desperate, a person can also brandish it to protect. In contrast, the gun’s only purpose is to kill.

And everyone could use a gun.

Idly he wondered: between chakra, and bombs and ballistic weaponry, which was worse?

The feeling of ice water shot down his spine as Tobirama shuddered to think what would happen if the Shinobi world acquired nuclear weapons.

Tobirama would definitely not be recreating that. It will stay theoretical (if it has even been thought of yet) for now. Hopefully forever. 

But at the rate he’s progressing on the search for his wayward teleportation notes, Tobirama would also settle for the notes on the cloning jutsu whose working title was ‘Double Team’ after that one Pokémon move from his first life. 

He’d try and make the clones solid. Then he wouldn’t have to be the one to ki-

Tobirama strangled the thought violently before it could fully form. There was no use wasting time on things not certain to be. 

Success! 

Shuffling one more pile out of the way, Tobirama pulled out both sets of notes from under the collection of beakers.

Now, where did he leave off…

* * *

Tobirama couldn’t focus.

He lay sprawled on the floor of his lab, papers strewn forgotten around him. The Senju’s hands were pressed to his eyes, and it was a wonder that his headache hadn’t made a reappearance.

The red-eyed man’s thoughts kept circling back in an infinite ouroboros, to the possibility that he tried to escape. Clearly it was to no avail. Teleportation and cloning were the furthest things from his mind as he tried and failed to contemplate the implications.

In the end, he gave up and flopped down, secure in the knowledge that no one could see him in the privacy of his lab.

Hopefully, there’ll be a chance to question Izuna sooner rather than later.

* * *

Another day, another battle. 

Today’s opponents were once again the Uchiha, but unlike previous times, Tobirama was out to get answers instead of blood. He was almost vibrating; bursting with the need. Well, he always tried to avoid killing as much as he could (a lifetime of morals didn’t disintegrate easily), and he definitely wasn’t going to be doing anything. Just in case. 

Hashirama-anija eyed him cautiously.

Like always, his eyes sought out Izuna, easily picking him out this time as he was standing at the front of the mass of Uchiha. Unlike the battles past, Izuna looked uneasy, restlessly shifting from side to side as if impatient. It was a stark difference to his usual deceptively lax stance.

Perhaps it was unwise for Tobirama to cling to a certainty as solid as smoke, especially when Izuna didn’t give any clear signs that he was-.

(Tobirama hoped with every fibre of his being, that-)

After all, the only thing Izuna did was stop attacking and stare. There could be hundreds of reasons that could have elicited such a reaction from him. Izuna must have thought he had finally cracked it - lost his mind sprouting off unintelligent garble. Probably. But if there was a chance...

Tobirama hated mysteries. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

“ATTACK!”

The signal is given and as one, they leap forward. 

Tobirama was quite fortunate with today’s pick of battlefield. As luck would have it, the spot the Uchiha and Senju had chosen to engage in battle was close to the fringes of a surrounding forest. By some unspoken communication and a shared desire for answers, Tobirama and Izuna met with a clash of swords near the edge of the forest and fought their way past the tree line. 

Once they weren’t visible from the open field, the trees providing coverage yet still within shouting distance of each other and their clansmen, they sprung apart. 

They stared at each other; muscles tensed in readiness while trying to ascertain the extent of what the other’s knowledge was. 

In the end, Izuna was the one to break the strained silence.

“How did you know that name, Senju?” Spat Izuna, fists clenched tightly around the sword he was pointing directly at Tobirama’s heart in a threat. If the answer was wrong, Tobirama was going to pay. Painfully.

Tobirama took a deep breath but otherwise stayed silent to collect his thoughts. He just stared at the increasingly irate Uchiha that was almost vibrating with irritation at the continued suspense.

“Tell me!” Izuna spat viciously. He wasn’t playing around, Tobirama noted idly in the part of his brain not assessing the situation.

Tobirama took another deep breath before deciding to take a big chance. “Your mother told me.” Izuna was either going to think he had lost his mind or-

“How dare you speak about her, Senju scum!” Snarled Izuna, coming to the obvious conclusion. “And I’ve never told anyone about it. Not even Madara knows,” he tacked on.

“I wasn’t talking about Uchiha Mitsuki.”

A pause as Izuna’s face flickered through a multitude of expressions while he tried to figure out just what he meant by that. He was looking more murderous the longer Tobirama dragged it on, so Tobirama hurriedly continued before he actually resorted to murdering Tobirama here and now.

“She told me when she brought you back home for the first time.” Tobirama struggled to get the next words out, each syllable falling as the mallet does on a gong. 

Tobirama remembered that day. He had been so mad because his parents had left him, _left him_ , with his grandparents when he was born. He stewed and sulked and complained like the child he was, right up until they returned home with two new additions to the family.

 _“_ _Come here… Look! It’s your new brother and sister!_ _”_

Looking down at the two snoozing babies, pudgy faces and tiny hands curled tight to one another, his heart melted. Hesitantly, but at his parents’ look of encouragement, he extended a finger and gently poked their little cheeks.

 _“_ _Hi~ I’m your big brother and I’m gonna love you forever! No matter what._ _”_

That was all it took. It was a promise and Tobirama had kept it forever - even fire and death couldn’t stop him.

That was why he had to-

“Your name was Darren Okumura. Your father was Daichi and your mother was Charlotte. You were a child of three, with an older brother named Ryan and a twin sister named Hailey.”

Tobirama closed his mouth, the final syllable falling from his lips like an executioner reading out a death sentence. Izuna had gone ghost white and now rivalled Tobirama’s own complexion. The Uchiha swayed from side to side, looking like he was about to fall over.

(Did it mean-)

When Izuna eventually gathered enough of his wits, he croaked out, voice hoarse with shock, “How did you know?” He shifted, subconsciously dropping out of the standard Uchiha battle stance. Fighting was clearly the furthest thing from his mind at this unexpected revelation.

Tobirama took a deep breath and steadied himself. This was it. Everything depended on his answer.

“ Because my name used to be Ryan Okumura. ”

He spoke (aloud for the first time in his second life) in the same language. 

The words hung pregnant in the air and even the forest fell silent at the declaration, the sounds of fighting growing distant in the wake of the confession. 

“ Your brother. ”

A beat.

(This was it. Either Izuna would attack or-)

The Uchiha rushed forward, arms outstretched and his sword’s clattering to the forest floor muffled by the leavy debris. Tobirama’s arms came up in a choking hug. 

But it wasn’t an attack.

Then they were both sobbing, falling to the ground, tears and snot went everywhere as Senju and Uchiha embraced the brother they’d found in the most unlikely of places.

Eventually the pair pulled back, staring across at each other. Now, they were truly seeing each other for the first time. Tobirama and Izuna may wear different faces now, but their souls are the same and most importantly, they _remember_.

It turned out that Tobirama was wrong. Today was the exception to the norm and it looked like the usual will be changing if Tobirama has any say over it. And he does, so it will.

After all, he could bend reality with his seals and jutsu.

There was nothing he couldn’t do with his brother at his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally meet! Things are going to get exciting from now on...


	5. communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobirama and Izuna tackle uncomfortable issues between them and strengthen their bond  
> (Tobirama’s POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”
> 
> Content Warnings in end notes because of potential spoilers.  
> \---  
> It's that somewhat dark chapter before it gets better.

The pattern changed. 

Tobirama’s reluctance and resignation turned quickly to eagerness.

In open battle he was always at the front ready to charge in as soon as the signal was given. Tobirama always volunteered to undertake any missions that have even the slightest chance of Uchiha presence. Especially if Tajima’s second son was involved.

Hashirama-anija misinterpreted this as a bloodthirsty hatred for the Uchiha. The type of rage that consumes a person and that his older brother didn’t want to lose his last sibling to. 

An easy mistake to make as Tobirama’s growing reputation as the Senju White Demon, now was gaining recognition in other clans besides the Uchiha, and it certainly didn’t do his image any favours. 

But Tobirama wasn’t going to tell him the real reason. He loved his Anija, but he couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. Or in this case it was Tobirama’s life, because if Butsuma knew what he was doing with the second Uchiha son every time they supposedly ‘fought’, then he’d kill Tobirama himself. Gladly, and with a smile on his face as he removed the Uchiha taint from the Senju and his family. His older brother would be devastated.

So Tobirama continued to keep his mouth shut. 

On the other hand, Butsuma (not Otou-sama, never that - he had a father once and this vile creature filled with hate and everything he stood against, could never hold a flame to him) was proud. Tobirama was disgusted when he was summoned to his office one late night and praised for his fervent and bloodthirsty behaviour when anything Uchiha was involved. He had had a bad taste in his mouth for _days_ after that encounter and sought to avoid him more than he already was.

He couldn’t believe that fate would be cruel enough to have him be related to him. Even more than that, that he had to spend even a second in his company. Although, Tobirama supposed that having his brother back more than made up for it. (He had _two_ brothers again!) 

No-one realised that Tobirama’s changed behaviour only extended to Izuna. As soon as Izuna was confirmed to not be present, he would continue as he would have before the discovery so as not to raise any suspicions. 

As all shinobi know, suspicions lead to...certain methods used to determine the person in question’s loyalty.

* * *

Tobirama and Izuna established a new routine. 

They would fight each other like normal, however they would subtly make their way to a secluded location as they did so. Once they got there, Izuna would put up a genjutsu and Tobirama would anchor it to their surroundings using his Fuuinjutsu knowledge - hiding them while making it seem like the two were fighting each other. They had a lot of fun imagining up the most outrageous moves, jutsu or techniques and projecting it onto their illusionary genjutsu counterparts to act it out. 

Naturally, they had to actually be able to perform them, but both had such a wide range of attacks and were extremely imaginative, so it didn’t limit them in the least. And of course, Izuna still had to hone his Sharingan skills and Tobirama had to create new jutsu and seals to keep up appearances with their kinsmen. But for them, it changed from being a desperate attempt to keep them and their loved ones alive, to a playful rivalry to constantly challenge the other to create the best new thing. Honestly, both considered it an added bonus to be able to use them in the next genjutsu, escalating the intensity of their illusionary fights.

The pair tended to spend their time together reminiscing and catching up on what the other had done. As much as the Uchiha and Senju trusted each other, it was an unspoken rule to not discuss clan secrets. It felt too much like betrayal for either to be comfortable. Instead, they stuck to more innocuous information, such as the latest stunt their idiot brothers had pulled. 

When the battle would eventually end, they would bloody each other up a little bit so their families and kinsmen wouldn’t get suspicious of any fraternisation with the enemy (even though that was exactly what it was, but also it wasn’t, since Tobirama and Izuna couldn’t be enemies knowing what they did). The Uchiha for one, could see through any genjutsu with their Sharingan, so the wounds had to be real. 

The pair would decide (usually with a short game of Jiankenpon) who would be the victor of their ‘fight’ and thus, who would end up the most visibly injured. Naturally, they never dealt any serious damage to the other. Instead, they chose to inflict injuries that looked much worse than they actually were, while still choosing spots that made it seem as if they were trying to fatally injure the other as what was expected of them.

Both Tobirama and Izuna hated seeing the other in pain, especially pain that they’d inflicted on the other. But most of the wounds they had to create used angles that couldn’t be done by oneself. They hoped that one day they would be able to stop this horrendous practise.

The brothers even tried to make it a game to take their mind off the nausea when it was time. The aim was to see who could stay silent and show the least reaction when they were wounded. It didn’t really help but the alternative was to break down, so they continued with their horrible game.

(They laughed through tears of guilt.)

Afterwards, Izuna and Tobirama would return reluctantly with their clansmen, bloodied as they exchanged longing glances full of regret that their meeting had been forcibly finished by the retreat.

At the end of the day, the other was the only tangible remainder of what they had lost in this strange unfamiliar wartorn world. 

* * *

Yet another Uchiha-Senju battle and the pair had quickly done their routine, eager to sit down and catch up with one another. It had been a month since the last fight, and as much as the two were grateful for the lack of casualties that naturally resulted from these fights, they missed each other. 

It was the safest way of communication. Meeting in person, that is. Letters could get intercepted and codes could be broken. Besides, it would be suspicious to be receiving letters from unknown sources, especially if they arrived from across the Naka river in the direction of their enemies’ land.

Despite potential worries of eavesdropping or people discovering what they weren’t supposed to, the pair continued to converse mostly in the standard language. Their first language didn’t fit who they were now and both Izuna and Tobirama agreed that it felt more comfortable this way, so they decided to just...not use it. Besides, Tobirama was the best sensor in all of Fire Country, if not in the Elemental Nations - he would know if anyone approached.

Genjutsu and seals already up, the Uchiha and Senju lay on their backs next to each other in yet another hidden clearing just beyond the fringes of the latest battlefield. They made themselves comfortable and listened to the distant sounds of Hashirama and Madara yelling each other’s names like the madmen they were. 

Ever since Izuna arrived he had been restless, like he had a burning need to ask Tobirama something. From Before, Tobirama knew that it was better to be patient and wait for Izuna to speak to him first. The anticipatory silence made him crack exponentially faster than any pushing and prodding could ever achieve. In the end, it didn't take more than five minutes for Izuna to cave.

“I’m sorry.”

Tobirama turned his head to meet Izuna’s eyes. By the tone it was a Serious Conversation and it definitely necessitated eye contact. 

“For what?”

“Well, you know how you have a reputation, right?”

“Naturally.” He sat up, Izuna quickly copying his movements. He could see where the other man was going with this but where to exactly, Tobirama wasn’t sure. 

Izuna hesitated, before just deciding to ask. “Why?” He cleared his throat before continuing. “I mean, (please don’t be offended) but everyone knows the White Demon is an emotionless, cold hearted, ruthless, and blood-thirsty psychopathic monster. The cruel and callous pale wraith, Ghost of the Senju...you don’t see him unless he wants you to see him, and he kills indiscriminately and with prejudice.”

Tobirama couldn’t pretend that hearing those hurtful words come from his brother’s mouth didn’t make his heart feel like it was tearing in two.

“I’m sorry I called you that.”

He would always forgive his baby brother, even when-

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

“But-” Izuna managed to get out before Tobirama raised his voice and spoke over him, drowning out the rest of his sentence.

“No,” he shook his head. “I can understand why you thought that.” Tobirama looked down at his hands, mouth upturned in a self-deprecating smile filled with all the loathing he had towards himself.

Tobirama was the cause of so much death. So much pain and so much suffering. His soul was corrupted, twisted, blackened and burned from all the sin until it was a facsimile of what he’d possessed Before. His body was covered in wickedness and from it dripped the bright red life-blood of those he’d slain.

(He _hated_ it.)

“In fact, I deserve it. There’s no excuse for murder, I know that. Yet, I still-” He choked on his words, before shaking his head. “I try to make it as painless as possible, you know. I try my best. If they’re going to die, then I don’t want them to suffer more than they have to. It’s just cruel, otherwise! I won’t take pleasure in seeing someone suffer that way. That’s torture. No matter how far I fall, I won’t let myself become that. I can’t! Enemies are people too and no-one deserves that.” Tobirama sniffled as he finished his explanation. He was embarrassed to realise a tear had slipped down his cheek. Emotions are a weakness that shinobi cannot afford. 

He was so ashamed. Those disgusting monikers had haunted him for years and he couldn’t even deny it - any of it - because it was true. Tobirama had wanted to keep it from his baby brother - keep him as sheltered as possible in this world, from the horrors he’d been forced to endure. (He knew logically that Izuna had experienced the same, but he would always want to protect his innocence...or what was left after the world had chewed him up and spat him out.) But as always, his insightful brother always got to the truth of the matter. 

For a long moment, neither of them said anything. The wind whistled softly as the leaves rustled.

In one swift movement, Izuna swept Tobirama into a warm embrace. He gently tucked Tobirama’s head under his chin and rocked them back and forth. Tobirama flinched in surprised before settling down. (Izuna politely ignored the growing tear stains that he could surely feel on his clothes.)

Acceptance...and understanding?

“I understand...I _understand_. You’re not a monster. I’m sorry I ever called you as such,” shushed Izuna. “Knowing who you are, I thought it might be that way. I know my big brother isn’t like that.”

‘Then why did you ask?!’ Tobirama wanted to shout. But he could understand Izuna’s need to hear it for himself. After all, if he were in Izuna’s place, he’d want an explanation too.

They swayed back and forth as Tobirama cried properly for the first time in years, releasing all the suppressed fear, guilt, and angst, alongside the other unexpressed and hidden emotions he’d buried deep. He was safe with his brother. Izuna was fully capable of keeping watch while he broke down.

Tobirama was just about to pull away, an apology for the undignified behaviour on his lips, when his ears caught the sound of shuddering breaths above him. Tilting his head just enough from where it was smushed into the Uchiha’s chest, he looked up only to see tears roll down Izuna’s cheeks as a sob escaped his lips. 

This time, Tobirama was the one to pull Izuna to him, and with renewed sobs, they cried into each other’s clothes together.

The battle raged on fiercely beyond the borders of their temporary haven. 

Tobirama and Izuna collected themselves, wiping tears from swollen eyes after what felt like an eternity had passed. 

The Uchiha swallowed and shakily brought up a smile. 

“...what?” The white-haired shinobi asked, noticing it.

“I know it’s not technically true this time around, but-” Izuna cut himself off, looking uncharacteristically shy and insecure.

Tobirama raised a white brow over puffed up eyes in encouragement.

“Well, you see...I mean, I have Nii-san. I love him and he’s good but he’s not you and it’s not the same-” Izuna rambled, eyes moving from side to side in avoidance of Tobirama’s gaze.

The Senju managed a quirk of the lips as he teased good-naturedly. “Please,” he said in a put-on haughty manner here, “hasten your speech and get to the point, should the battle end before you ask your question.” Izuna inhaled and held it for a good ten seconds as his brother watched with indulgence. Then, the Uchiha let it out in one go, words gushing like an opened dam.

“IsitokifIcallyouAniki?”

“...I didn’t catch that.”

“Is it ok if I call you ‘Aniki’?” Izuna repeated at a speed more conducive to intelligibility. “It’s just, I know that we’re not related this time around, but you’re still my brother, right? And I can’t call you ‘Nii-san’ since I already have an older brother.” Izuna started waving his hands around in an wholly unsuccessful attempt to enhance his explanation, “But that’s not to say that you’re not my older brother too! It’s just I-”

“Idiot,” Tobirama cut him off as he fondly bent down and kissed Izuna’s forehead. As he did so, Izuna’s eyes fluttered shut and he craned his neck up slightly to meet Tobirama. “You’ll always be my baby brother and nothing will change that.”

The brother he had back again against all odds, smiled up at him.

_(“You should probably call me ‘Tobi’ when we’re around others.”)_

_(“What ‘others’ are we going to be around?”)_

_(“...You do have a point there.”)_

* * *

“Do you ever think about how weird it is that we’re the same age now?”

“Hmm?”

“You know, since Before you were older than us and now you and I are the same age. Don’t you find it even a little weird?”

“I suppose. But a lot of things are weird, compared to Before.”

“That is doubtlessly undeniable.”

* * *

“Besides, you’ll always be a brat to me.”

“Yea- Hey wait!”

The sound of joyful laughter echoed in the treetops.

* * *

Fated enemies lounged around yet again, basking in the warm sunlight of the clearing they had chosen for today. Izuna had been animatedly critically analysing the benefits and disadvantages of differences in Fire Country taxation brackets for shinobi as compared to civilians. The clearly passionate Uchiha even delved into the different influences on country folk as compared to city dwellers in reference to their shinobi counterparts.

(Tobirama still had trouble sometimes, reconciling the memories of his brother with the image of his rival. He would wake up in a cold sweat some nights, haunted by dreams of his brother’s past and current face twisting and melding into a gruesome facsimile. He also hated to admit that he still flinched on instinct, if the Uchiha moved too fast. Izuna would always politely feign ignorance. After all, he did it too.)

(But it was times like these that helped.)

And upon restating his main points for the fifth time in an hour, Izuna finally released his brother from the torture. The Senju loved knowledge in all its forms and hoarded it fiercely, but he had neglected to mention that this was not the first, not even the second or the third, but the _fifth_ time that he was subjected to this exact same speech. The Sharingan-wielder even used the same phrasing in certain parts, which if given a few more repeat performances, the other shinobi would be able to recite the entire thing by heart.

(The warrior much preferred seeing his little brother’s face lit up in spirited conversation, instead of snarling and spitting curses. Besides, it was unimaginably cruel to dismiss someone when they were sharing something that they valued and held close to their heart. Tobirama had not and would not break the trust he was given.)

Yet, people said Tobirama was the one who was obsessed, a man so driven by the adrenaline rush from successful seals and jutsu, that he would work himself into an early grave. His older brother included.

They had evidently never met Izuna before. But the white-haired man currently enjoying the reprieve from hell-sorry, being ‘educated’ had to admit that in this lifetime, the only people that were close enough to know of his tendency to disappear in lieu of inventing frenzies, were his Senju clansmen.

“How did you die?” 

Tobirama did NOT mean to blurt that out uninhibited! Granted, it had been a thought that had been plaguing him since he first became Senju Tobirama, and more so after the discovery, but he wasn’t going to raise the topic in conversation. Especially not like this, so unexpectedly. He usually had better control than this! Controlling impulses and unintended actions were a necessity for shinobi, should the wrong thing at the wrong time prove fatal. Like speaking out in the Daimyo’s court, or sneezing on an infiltration mission. (Touka-nee’s aunt still enjoyed gleefully sharing that story every chance she got.)

At the question however, the other man went dead silent and in that moment, it would be hard pressed to distinguish him from a stone statue in that moment. Izuna didn’t even shiver or make the slightest twitch as a chilling breeze swept through his hair and prickled the back of his neck.

“Ah, sorry.” The red-eyed man sheepishly scratched his neck in self-recrimination. “That was insensitive.”

The previously jovial Uchiha now mumbled something gloomily as he looked up at Tobirama in anguish. The endlessly curious shinobi stupidly did not take to heart the lesson he learned from the mistake he had _just_ made seconds ago, and carelessly opened his mouth when he should have stayed silent and let the matter lie forgotten.

“Apologies, I did not catch what you said.” 

“ Car crash  .” 

It was just two words, but Tobirama felt his heart sink. It sunk all the way to his toes and continued downwards to the center of the earth. But before he could ruminate on what that meant for his brother, Izuna was speaking again. This time, with a haunted look and distant eyes; almost as if he was reliving every moment in vivid clarity as if it had been recorded by the Sharingan. It seemed that once Izuna started speaking, all the words came tumbling out. 

“It was quick.”

The red-eyed man sat frozen, enthralled at the horrifying story. No matter how much he screamed and railed inside his mind to _stop him, make him never have that look on his face_ , it was like he was trapped in an impenetrable prison behind immovable bars. Helplessly forced to watch the disaster unfold. Like watching a car crash (like the one his little brother _died_ from!), he couldn’t look away.

“There was...a  truck  , I think. It was late at night and the other driver probably fell asleep  at the wheel  . There were ju- just  headlights , right in front of me! And then- then, that was it. Heard the sound of metal warping. Glass shattering. Maybe there was screaming?” 

Izuna got more visibly upset as the story dragged painfully on. The distraught man had to keep substituting words for concepts that didn’t exist in their new language. 

“And you know what?! I wasted your gift. You sacrificed _everything_ for me - don’t think I didn’t know how much you would have been cut up to lose that  NASA internship.”

Tobirama drudge up enough of his consciousness to mutely shake his head, blood having long run cold. But the Uchiha was so lost in his memory that he didn’t even notice.

“If only I had been _faster_ that night. The roof...the fire... If my- my leg hadn’t been-”

The older brother in Tobirama shattered the more he heard his eloquent sibling search clumsily for words, using them and discarding them with the same skill an eight month old baby had when slotting shapes into their corresponding holes. Izuna’s pride had always been his skill with words, and he never failed to have the right ones perfectly suited to the situation and message he wanted to convey. Seeing him like this, it just _hurt_.

“You would have lived. We would have been _together_. All three of us.”

Izuna continued, heedless of the spinning thoughts in the Senju’s head.

“Why did you have to do it?!” Hysterical eyes sought wide red-eyes. “I was the one who was hurt.” He clutched his head, squeezed his eyes shut and bunched his hair in tightly clenched fists. “I should have just told you I was fine, ok,  just peachy  or whatever!” 

“You know what the worst thing was?” Izuna laughed a bone-chilling laugh that sent a jolt of ice right into his heart. “It was that Hailey was right there. She was right _there_ , next to me in the car, and I couldn’t do anything.” His self-assured brother’s usually strong voice cracked on the last word. “I watched her breathing slow.”

His brother, his _baby brother_ turned and looked him with those dead eyes.

“I watched her take her _last breath_.”

Tobirama couldn’t take it anymore. Tears finally escaped from red-eyes and streamed down his face unbidden. Yet he watched on without a word, determined to know until the very end.

Sniffing, his younger brother continued on his awful tale. “She wanted to be a doctor. Instead, I watched as the paramedics held her broken body. It should have been- It should have been-!” He cut off abruptly and visibly swallowed.

“Why is it that the good die young? If anyone deserved to live, it was her! Not me, her! My sister...My twin...We were together in everything, but I never wanted her to follow me all the way!”

“Maybe this is my punishment for getting you two killed! I’m damned to live another life in a hell world, watching my second family  drop like flies  in an endless, meaningless war! Not only that, but you’re here with me! I get to watch you suffer and sell your soul for a clan that hates you! Don’t think I don’t know how the Senju treat you - especially Butsuma! You don’t deserve that! This eternal shithole that I’ve condemned you to!”

“My only wish now, is that I haven’t condemned Hailey to this either. Maybe she got the ending that she deserved.”

He laughed wetly, the sound reverberating in their hiding spot.

“...I never once regretted it.” The whisper rose unbidden from Tobirama. “I’m _glad_ that you got those extra years. God, I only wish that you and Hailey had gotten more time. Too young, you were both too young-” He swallowed around the words stuck in his throat. “I’m so sorry that I left you two behind. I’m so _sorry_.”

“But my brother,” Tobirama pressed their foreheads together. “You must know that I don’t blame you at all. If that was the price I had to pay to see you again, to know that you were alive and well, hale and hearty. Then I am satisfied.”

With a shuddering breath, and emotions filling his lungs, he continued. “Hailey would not have blamed you either. It was an accident. Maybe it was just meant to be.”

Izuna scoffed derisively. Tobirama chose to ignore that.  
“I know it doesn’t feel like that, but no matter if it was, or wasn’t, there is no use ruminating on ‘what ifs’ and ‘what might be-s’.

“I love you,  little bean.” At the nickname he hadn’t heard in a lifetime, Izuna’s eyes shot open from where they had fluttered shut. “Never forget that.”

“The past is the past, and nothing that you nor I could do, could change that. For better or for worse, we are here _now_ and we have each other. That is all we need.”

“Take this blessing, this second chance, and be happy.” Tobirama took a breath as he considered his next words. 

“Do you remember what  dad always said?”

Izuna nodded and hoarsely whispered, “That  happiness is a choice?”

“Indeed. The path to happiness is not without its own challenges. It is much easier to fall prey to darkness and despair. Don’t let the past control you. Look to the future,  little bean.”

Tobirama fell silent as they absorbed the heavy atmosphere. Then Izuna spoke up again and forced a smile, clearly eager to switch the topic to one more light hearted. 

“Hey, so something’s been bugging me for ages. Why do the Senju always look like they’re about to poop when they arrive on the battlefield?”

Tobirama welcomed the return of his annoying brother with open arms.

“We do not!” 

“Alright, alright.” The troublemaker in the form of his little brother held his hands up. (His coal-black eyes were still puffed up.) “No need to get all huffy at me.” A sly look. “I’m only speaking the truth, after all.”

Uchiha Izuna would pay dearly for those comments. The absolute slander against his second family and beloved kinsmen… Oh, upon his honour as a Senju, Tobirama would _personally_ ensure that this would be rectified. Immediately.

Tobirama narrowed his eyes before he threw himself at his brother, the conversation now long forgotten as they grappled, hissing and pinching just like they used to as clouds of dust and dirt flew from where they rolled around.

* * *

“How dare you say that to your own brother?!”

“No, stop. Wait, Aniki! WAIT!!!”

“Who are you to say that the great and powerful Senju Tobirama is ‘annoying?!”

“...I _am_ related to you so...”

“Prepare for your demise!”

“No, ahahahahahaha!”

“I will never let you go until you beg for mercy!”

“Never!”

Tobirama jabbed his fingers deeper into Izuna’s sides as Izuna squirmed away, laughing as he tried desperately to escape being tickled.

He loved his precious brother and was selfishly glad that he was here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a pretty heavy chapter. But I promise the next ones will be way more lighthearted than this one.
> 
> **Content Warnings: brief mention of necessarily hurting someone on purpose, calling people names/hurtful monikers, deaths from car crashes and a smidgeon of survivor’s guilt(?)**
> 
> Next up: convincing the boys to guide their clans towards peace!


	6. divergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Convincing your sibling from an enemy clan to agree to peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”

Tobirama was getting desperate. 

He didn’t want to use his last resort. It was absolutely a last-ditch effort because even if he survived it, there was no guarantee that he’d make it to the end. But he couldn’t think like that. That kind of mentality would not help him here. He would survive at all costs.

No, Senju Tobirama was not going to lose!

“So?” A black eyebrow raised over a mouth curled into a taunting smirk. “Do you yield?” His opponent cocked an arm on his waist as he twirled what would surely be Tobirama’s destruction around lazily. 

He desperately cast his eyes around for a way out, and they darted left and right only to come up with nothing. Despite his mastery over Katon, ice flooded Tobirama’s veins as he continued frantically scanned ahead in denial. There were no options. He was going to have to use _it_. His opponent had thwarted his every move and cut off every possibility. It was unbearably cruel and he only hoped that Anija would never find out about his humiliating defeat should this not prove enough to win. 

The Senju scrunched his face in concentration as he mentally calculated his probability of winning against what was most likely hidden in his opponent’s arsenal. Glaring at his opponent, he eyed him attentively for any possible weaknesses he could exploit. Finding a distinct lack of them, Tobirama finally comprehended that there was no way out. His smirking opponent had forced his hand. There was no choice but to use his strongest move, his-

“Four of a kind!” Tobirama yelled as he spread his fingers to reveal the cards nestled within.

The Uchiha and Senju had decided to play ‘Big Two’ or ‘Tycoon’ as they believed it was called. It was a card game similar to the Japanese Daifugou but with subtle differences. A friend of Izuna’s Before had taught him the rules and it quickly became a household favourite of the sibling trio. Lately, they had been feeling nostalgic and had wanted to spice their secret meetings up. Tobirama suggested that they remake a standard 52 card deck and Izuna had agreed.The very next battle Tobirama had returned proudly with a bunch of colourful scribbled-on bits of paper.

(The Senju brother had laughed when he realised that his preparation for Uchiha now included smuggling his hand drawn deck of cards alongside slipping in kunai and shuriken in various pockets and hiding spaces.)

Previously, Izuna had tried teaching his older brother ‘Konpira fune fune’, the Geisha drinking game but substituting sips of water for shots of sake. However, the two quickly realised that it wasn’t stimulating enough of a game to keep their attention for long. 

Thus, Tobirama’s suggestion of playing cards.

The pair floundered for a bit, as they tried to figure out where they could purchase or acquire them. Neither the Uchiha nor the Senju used the standard deck of cards, only possessing similar but unusable ones, and the two didn’t know if other clans played with them. 

Guess that’s what happened when you were at war with everyone. 

Naturally, they had been forced to make it themselves. Picture cards were filled with stick figure drawings, whilst number cards had the numerical number in the corners as the middle bore tally marks.

Tobirama was _not_ an artist, nor was he very imaginable and creative when it came to drawing anything not a diagram. Izuna somewhat regretted letting his older brother make the cards, but was honestly too lazy in the end to do something about the eyesores.

Regardless, the cards functioned as they should and the brothers made do.

The spark of triumph lit up Izuna’s eyes and Tobirama knew in that instant which of the two were to emerge victorious.

“Straight flush beats Four of a kind anyday!” 

Tobirama conceded his defeat with grace, which is to say that Tobirama threw the remaining cards at his brother’s face. Izuna watched them sadly flutter down a good ways ahead of him, having been made of paper. (But he was secretly impressed at how far it went, for being paper. His brother was truly a skilled shinobi.) Meanwhile Tobirama slumped over, angrily crossed his arms, and proceeded to steam in his seat. The red-eyed Senju imagined that he made for a pitiful picture, but in that moment, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. The two shinobi had played seven rounds that day and the Sharingan-wielder had won every single one of them, leaving his brother to stew in his resounding loss. (Even though he didn’t have the Sharingan active - Tobirama’s sensing would have been able to feel its activation, he had to have been cheating somehow!)

“Who’s the best? I am!” crowed the raven-haired man as he danced around their hideaway.

Tobirama mumbled something inaudible under his breath.

“What was that?” Izuna leaned closer, putting his cupped ear right next to Tobirama’s mouth as he dramatically cried, “I didn’t hear that.”

“No need to gloat,” spat Tobirama as he made sure to drag out the words with clear reluctance. “I lost, alright!” 

“It is more than alright, my dear brother,” Izuna was practically bouncing up and down by this stage. “You know what that means?” Tobirama tilted his head up to face his sibling’s anticipatory grin. “ _Punishment_.”

This was the part that Tobirama dreaded the most. You’d think that with the constant losses that it would be easier to face, but you would be mistaken. The Senju would almost prefer having to face Madara on the field than utter the next few syllables.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already?” Izuna lifted an Uchiha-delicate hand in front of his face in a mockery of shock. “All that grey hair…” he ‘tsk-ed’, “you must be growing old.” 

Tobirama bared his teeth at him, making sure to fully highlight his Hatake mother in the snarl. He delighted in the tiny jerk back that it elicited. “Hrmph,” he jerked his head to the side, “You get your way, Uchiha.”

The victor sidled up right next to the loser for his reward.

“I,” the white-haired man started and then interrupted himself, whining, “Do I have to?” 

“ _Yes_. Yes you do.”

“Ok. Fine.” 

Silence.

“I’m waiting~”

“Impatient brat!” Chided the clear victim here. “I’m getting there.”

Deep breath in and out.

“I, Senju Tobirama, hereby acknowledge that Uchiha Izuna is the greatest card master to ever walk the earth. I bow before his brilliance and cower before his expertise. There is none that can ever hope to match him.” He squinted at the form wheezing from laughter. “There. Are you happy now?”

“Extremely happy,” said Izuna, wiping away tears of mirth. “I am happy like you wouldn’t believe.” 

Red-eyes narrowed. “Oh,” the Senju remarked dryly. “I think I can take a guess.” 

“Tch,” the older brother declared, “We’re playing Rummikub next.” Tobirama turned away from his brother and sulked playfully as his squashed armour tinked morosely. 

Izuna must have thought that Tobirama was actually mad (he had never been the best at play-acting - always too serious for the mood), because the raven-haired Uchiha creeped up tentatively behind him. “Aniki,” he tried tentatively. “If it really bothers you, we don’t have to play.” 

Tobirama swiveled around, slightly panicked at the tone, and adopted a gentle smile. “Don’t worry so much, Izu.” A hand ruffled dark hair drawing out a squawk of surprise. “It’s just a game. I’m alright.”

Izuna absently started nodding before he shook his head, realising what his brother called him. “Izu?” He questioned.

“Ah, sorry.” The Senju looked apologetic. “It just slipped out. I won’t call you that again.”

“No!” The younger brother raced to reassure him. “No,” he continued, his words less rushed, “It’s alright. It’s probably better than ‘ little bean ’. You know, justincasesomeoneoverhearsyouafterallwecan’tbetoocareful.” Izuna mumbled, his cheeks flushing a Sharingan-red.

Tobirama’s mouth curled upwards. 

His baby brother was too cute sometimes.

* * *

“Did Hashirama ever tell you what he was doing with Nii-san?”

Tobirama didn’t know what Izuna meant by that question. “...in every battle, they’re always fighting?”

“No, I meant all those years ago. You know, when we were kids. Back at the river.”

The question had been anticipated as much as Butsuma and Tajima announcing their secret love affair. Which is to say not at all.

Izuna sat in between Tobirama’s legs, leaning back comfortably and staring up at the sky. There were a few clouds, but otherwise the sky was blue and clear. In the distance, visible only with chakra enhanced vision, they could see a flock of birds circling far away from the fighting.

Their clansmen were at it once again.

“Anija was really mad at me but after I pressed, he did eventually tell me. I felt quite bad after that.” Tobirama paused, organising his thoughts before continuing. “He told me that he and Madara were only ever playing. There was no time he was in danger, and he also stressed that he never ever shared any Senju secrets or techniques. Then after he swore me to secrecy, he told me that he and Madara dreamed of creating a village together - one where children would be kept safe and not sent to war.”

“...Now I feel bad.” 

“Me too.”

“But you know why I did it, right?” Izuna propped himself up with his elbow and half turned to face his brother. “I didn’t know you were...you know, and I couldn’t take the chance! You were an unknown, and Nii-san...he was the only one I had left! I had to protect him!”

Tobirama’s eyebrows arched in silent judgement. 

“I know _now_ , that you wouldn’t have hurt him but-”

“No,” Tobirama softly cut in, the words dropping like stones in water. “I probably would have.” Izuna jerked back, startled at the unexpected answer. “Anija and I...we lost our little brothers years ago. Now it’s just us two. Anija, despite everything, is still innocent. Naive. He wants peace so badly that he’ll ignore danger. Anija trusts blindly. So if I have to be the one to walk in the shadows to keep his spirit burning bright, then I will do it with a smile on my face.”

“But now that I know that you’re _you_ ,” Tobirama looked Izuna straight in the eye, “I think we can do it. We can make peace.”

Izuna gaped at him, dumbfounded. “Aniki, I love you and all that, but are you dumb?”

Tobirama made an affronted sound at that.

“Did you lose all your brain cells? Your intelligence clearly didn’t cross lifetimes.” Izuna stood up and paced, waving his arms as he ranted. “You don’t get it! We get along sure, but our clans will never accept it!”

Tobirama let Izuna continue on for a long while before catching his hands in his own, when Izuna inhaled deeply in preparation to explain the next reason in his thesis defence of why peace between warring shinobi clans, much less ancient enemies such as theirs, were inherently flawed and doomed to failure. 

Tobirama caught his gaze as he adopted the same tone as one uses when speaking to an unruly child. “No, _you’re_ the one who doesn’t get it. I’m tired of all this, Izu. All the distrust, the fighting, the dying. Aren't you too? If we make peace, then there’ll be no more people like us. No more child soldiers dying for a meaningless war. Our clansmen, our _brothers_ can live in _peace_.”

Izuna scoffed and rolled his eyes, but Tobirama kept talking. “If the Allied Forces could create a peace treaty and a cessation of forces after World War One, then it stands to reason that we can do something like that here.”

“...the treaty of Versailles was a disaster. They went to war about twenty years later.” 

“Maybe that wasn’t the best example.”

“You think?!” Izuna deadpanned.

Tobirama sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. “My point is, that it’s not impossible. Hard yes, but not impossible.”

And besides,” he shot a sly look at Izuna from the corner of his eye. “If there’s peace between the Uchiha and Senju, it means that we don’t have to hide.” 

* * *

Izuna knew that his brother is rarely ever wrong. His mind was a wondrous thing - infinitely analytical and methodical in his approach. His brother also had the most annoying habit of making the impossible, possible. Being born with chakra at his beck and call certainly hadn’t helped, in fact Tobirama was infamous for his jutsu and Fuuinjutsu inventions. Not many could brag that they went head to head with an Uchiha and _survived_ , but fewer still could say that they were an Uchiha’s equal in combat.

Only two could say that they were fearsome enough that an Uchiha would put their pride aside and flee, should they come face to face with them.

The first was Senju Hashirama for his Mokuton. A Senju kekkei genkai that hadn’t been seen for thousands of years and one in which nature itself bends to their caster’s whims. There was no escaping from that (every tree, plant and flower in Fire Country was his weapon) unless he wished you too. The Uchiha were fortunate so far that Hashirama was more preoccupied with offering peace (and fighting Izuna’s Nii-san).

The other was Senju Tobirama. Senju Wraith, Demon and Ghost. He lurked in every passing corner, in every tree hollow, and behind every rock. He spent his free time prowling the landscape of Fire Country, regardless of whether it was within Senju lands or not. Blah, blah, blah. Honestly, you would think that his unusual colouring with skin so pale it was practically luminescent, that he would stick out more. But that’s where the fearsome chakra sensing comes in. The mere mention of his name was enough to make whole squads reconsider. There was even a rumour that the entire Shimura clan encountered him once, and they ran away screaming. And the Shimura clan weren’t a small or weak clan either.

To be frank, Tobirama’s reputation probably did more for ensuring his clan’s safety than anything else. 

Senju Hashirama may be intimidating, but it was Senju Tobirama who was truly the one to fear. Hashirama would at least give you a chance, but if you came across Tobirama, there would be no mercy for you or your squad.

Without the Mokuton or any special kekkei genkai and armed with only his wits and an above average chakra reserve and control, Senju Tobirama could go head to head with Izuna. Even with the formidable Sharingan, it was a tossup between who would come out on top.

(The thought caused Izuna to shudder. It’s funny how things change, a few months ago and he would have thought the same. Now, the sight of those blood-red eyes and snow-white skin was a source of comfort, safety and trust.) 

Therefore, if there was anyone who could do it, it was Tobirama, his brother.

So this time…

...he’ll take a chance. 

“Plus,” that startled Izuna as he came back to himself, “You can have the freedom to come and annoy me all day long.”

“Fuck, I hate how that convinces me.” Izuna let out an explosive sigh. “Fine, you win. What do we need to do?”

“I knew you’d see it my way.”

“Just tell me already.”

* * *

Tobirama had made plans, scribbled into endless notebooks under the cover of darkness, but he never dared entertain the slightest possibility that it could happen.

But this…this changed _everything_. Two of the most politically powerful Shinobi (and most powerful overall) in their clans working from the shadows to bring light.

Yes, Tobirama thinks. He will make peace.

No, _they_ would make peace. 

Together.

* * *

“Ok, but before we start anything, we need to know whether or not our clans will even _accept_ it.” 

“Hashirama-anija’s stance is quite clear on that.”

“Hn, obviously.”

“...did you just ‘Hn’ like an Uchiha?”

“What is that supposed to mean?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What if Tobirama was super competitive and a sore loser? Thus, I present to you the appropriately titled ‘Sore Loser!Tobirama’ snippet.
> 
> “I said,” roared Tobirama as he shoved his face right next to a startled Izuna’s. “We’re going to play Rummikub next!”  
> “But don’t we need two decks? We only have one…” Izuna trailed off at the heated glare shot at him.  
> “Then fix it!” Tobirama seethed as he walked away. If there had been a table, it would have been flipped five minutes ago.


	7. outline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobirama presents ‘Agreeing to Peace 101: How to get your war-loving clan to make nice with their lifelong enemies’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”
> 
> Content Warning: talking about manipulation (but it's for peace)

“Doton: Doryuuheki!”

A wall the height of a shinobi rose, liberally covered in a generous dusting of dirt. A blue armoured shinobi clapped his hands to remove the dust coating it and stood up from where he was crouched. Tobirama marched over to the new addition as Izuna sank into a cross legged position facing his brother and the wall.

“Alright, so here’s the plan.” 

The retreat order had been issued too soon for Tobirama to have explained anything in their last rendezvous. It was fortuitous, as the Senju took the unexpected time to refine and integrate Izuna’s cooperation into his plans. (He had just enough time to interrogate the Uchiha on his standing in the clan and had to factor it in.) In hindsight, the plan he was going to have proposed would not have worked half as well as this new one should. 

Oh, how Tobirama detested anything less than perfection. 

Now he was certain as to the effectiveness of his plan.

Tobirama jabbed a bare finger into the surface of the makeshift blackboard, and started writing, swirling characters appearing where the dirt had been swept away.

Halfway through the sentence, the Senju stopped and stared at his now very grubby finger. Izuna cocked his head at the interruption, curious to know why his older brother had stopped. Usually once you got Tobirama going, he had to be physically pried away from his work. 

“I need a stick.” 

Thus, two shinobi paused the sure to be epic presentation and spent a good chunk of time hunting for a stick like errant children, all to no avail. They felt a bit stupid when Tobirama realised that he could just use his incredible chakra control and Doton proficiency to draw instead because of course.

His Aniki was just extra like that.

“Alright,” huffed Tobirama, now standing in front of their primitive blackboard and glaring down at the dirt he was trying to rub off his finger. They had taken their spots and as such, Izuna was once more in front of the dirt wall and eagerly awaited the reveal. “Before we start, make sure you activate your Sharingan.” The doujutsu wielder dutifully activated it, the swirling tomoe on the background of piercing red appearing between one blink and the next.

“No taking physical notes. I don’t have to remind you what would happen if someone got their hands on tangible evidence of Senju-Uchiha schemes. _Especially_ ,” Tobirama stressed and he leaned over the rapidly nodding Uchiha, “if it was in any way linked to you, a part of the main family _and_ Tajima’s son.”

The frowning Senju leaned back into his normal posture as Izuna breathed a sigh of relief. Those three red stripes really made his brother look scarier than he actually was. 

* * *

“The plan is quite simple, but simple is best in these cases.

Butsuma and Tajima are too set in their ways for anything we do to change them. They cling too tightly to tradition and take comfort in that. But as you know, traditionalism breeds stagnation and always leads to ruin. 

For this plan to work, for there to be _change_ , we need to start early.

You need to get the ear of the people. Sway their hearts and their minds. Take Tajima’s support right out from under him. Subtly undermine him and his supporters’ authority and influence. Plant seeds of doubt. In Tajima’s leadership, in his strength on the battlefield, in his ties to other clans, anything. Use anything that can be used. 

There are splinters and cracks; no system is ever without its weak points. Exploitable points. You need to target those most critical and outspoken of the current practises first - those most at odds with Tajima and his supporters. Use a personalised targeted method of approach. Talk with them, joke around. People’s thoughts can be as malleable as wet clay if you chance upon the right strategy, especially if a trusted friend of theirs is the potter.

Treat them as trusted confidantes. They will flock to you. If they feel that they are being lavished with special attention, they will reciprocate in kind. 

There are infinite ways of achieving this. 

When Tajima says to deploy a squad of child-killers, you drop whispers in the shadows that say it is because he is so weak and his mind so addled, that he believes that mere children can bring such a powerful clan to its knees. Because Tajima is too _cowardly_ to face real shinobi. Only _honourless_ men slaughter children. 

Leave shared implications to hang unspoken in your wake. 

The fear of being left behind to rot in the dust and forgotten by everyone and everything...it can be a powerful thing. Peace is new and it is scary when tradition is a known safety. It is a wall to cower and hide behind. But it is only a matter of time before all walls crumble, leaving only ruins of what they were before. Adapting is the only way to survive, and not only that, but _flourish_. There is no reward without effort. 

No sacrifice, no victory. 

If you execute this step correctly, they will aid you on your mission. Whispers will spread uncontrollably, a venerable wildfire that cannot be quenched. They will come from so many directions that even if caught, Tajima will never be able to find the source. 

Outnumbered and outplanned, Tajima will fall. But be warned, what he leaves behind is a single ember. You need to put it out before it sparks up and destroys all that you have done.

Kindness and love breed a stronger loyalty than fear and oppression ever could. Those are paltry and fleeting things never meant to last for how could it? Therefore, it is up to you to present Madara as a strong and true leader that will guide the Uchiha to prosperity, not only economically but also spiritually. He will be the greatest leader of the Uchiha and will be spoken of for centuries to come. 

It shouldn’t be that hard. From what I know, he is already that man for the Uchiha. He only needs to show it. 

Madara...he isn’t charismatic in that way, although he cares deeply and freely. He’s not a people person. They respect him for his strength, but he is awkward. His influence is through power. And power isn’t permanent. But if you give people confidence, so that they truly believe in his cause and more importantly in his ability to deliver, success will come to those with _faith_.

Loyalty to the cause and the man is vital.

Once Tajima is dead, can the next step be done. You need to graduate slowly from subtle to outright. But be warned: Do not try it too early should you damage your chances. Gauge your kinsmen’s receptiveness for this next part.

Tajima rules with fear and has few supporters loyal to him, and fewer still that are loyal to the cause. But those who are, are the most dangerous. Be wary and on your guard. I will not lose you to them. 

Standing at Madara’s side, you need to publicly denounce his decisions. Start slowly with small inconsequential actions of his. Eventually, make your way up to the big, controversial, and influential ones. The latter are the ones you need to win, although any victory should not be discounted.

Sing praises of the magnificence of the Uchiha, a proud people and rightly so. Tell your clansmen that glory awaits on the horizon, of the promised bounty. 

If they still are not convinced...tell them more. Offer a world without war, without distrust, without unending pain and ceaseless violence. 

Give them _paradise_.

To the civilians, craftsmen, merchants, and other non-combatants of your clan, offer them wealth. Crops free to grow large and bountiful without fear of sabotage. Storehouses safe from thievery. Supply routes open and free. Wares now travel freely to the wealthy nobility of the capital, and there is access to markets far and wide that are only available now. Purses are fat and bursting at the seams. Coffers are spilling and overflowing with gold. 

To the families, offer them protection. There will never be mothers, brothers, sisters, _family_ crying over too small graves ever again. Instead, children can grow up strong and happy. There will be no young warriors doomed to see their age mates fall around them. To see them not only _live_ but _thrive_ , is a precious gift. 

To the shinobi warriors of your clan, offer them safety. Offer them a _home_. Somewhere to return to after a mission. 

Imagine: It’s been a long day, and you’re heading home to rest. You nod to the sentries as they prowl the borders, and they smile and wave you on. As you continue down the street until you approach your house. Your children come barrelling out, having spotted you approach. They spill out giggling onto the street and crowd around you. You relax as they babble away about their day and eager to hear your opinions. You spot your spouse leaning at the front door, watching their family with contentment. You can finally relax because you know that you are home, and you are safe. Nothing will harm you here. There is no war, only peace and happiness and joy because no one would dare attack the stronghold of the two strongest clans in all of Fire Country. There are none who can threaten your haven. 

Tell them that this way, this path to peace, means satisfaction in all, but happiness above all. The clan will _prosper_. 

Indeed, these are all things that you can offer your kinsmen. And these are things that I will offer mine.”

* * *

Izuna sat rooted to the ground, his Sharingan spinning wildly as his mind neatly filed the information away. 

The plan was incredibly straightforward and simple. 

It didn’t sound very ethical...but it could _work_. His brother never bothered dressing things up to make it seem better than it was. No, his older brother always approached, and delivered, with blunt honesty. Besides, this was a case of the ‘ends justifying the means’ and it wasn’t like Izuna was going to plant it directly into their minds with a genjutsu or something. For one, the Uchiha had a natural defence against it, and for another, the choice would be stronger if freely made. 

No violence, no coercion, no hidden compulsion. He would not be a tyrant. (Tajima was a despot and look how he turned out.) Humanity had free will and neither Tobirama nor Izuna would take it away. That was a line neither of them would cross. Not to their kinsmen and not for something like this. 

They still had a choice and Izuna was just guiding them towards it.

The Uchiha closed his eyes and frowned as something occurred to him. All this time, Tobirama had talked in terms of what would happen to Izuna and the Uchiha. He made no mention of himself nor the Senju. Izuna double-checked, searching through his memories and when he still came up empty, he asked Tobirama.

“Naturally, I will do the same with Butsuma.” The Senju had that particular smirk that all but screamed that Izuna would not like what he was about to say next.

“Remember that unlike me, you have an extra job. You will need to persuade Madara. Before anything can be done, it is imperative that you have his support on your side. The entire plan hinges on Madara and Anija being the ones to push for peace.” Gone was the smug glee at Tobirama’s next words. “There’s no point if the clan head himself rejects the very notion.”

With a thoughtful pause to let Izuna absorb the information, Tobirama continued. “Now, it shouldn’t be too difficult to convince him. From what Anija has told me, I suspect that your brother still holds hope for peace. Regardless of how irrational he thinks his childhood dream is, it is your job to rekindle those flames of desire.”

Izuna smiled to himself. As much as Tobirama bitches about the Uchiha, it is heartening to see that his Aniki respects his Nii-san. 

Wait...hold on a minute.

“Ugh,” groaned Izuna, “I’m going to have to tell Madara.”

Tobirama frowned in consternation. “Yes, did I not just say that?”

“Do you know how much I’m going to be teased?” Tobirama’s face pinched together like he was silently laughing but was trying not to show it. “I made such a big fuss about the River Incident!”

Izuna sobered up as a thought occurred to him. “Nii-san might not believe me. I’m the one most adamantly against a ceasefire with the Senju in my clan.”

“Was” Tobirama corrected like the grammar perfectionist he was.

“Ugh, whatever. You know what I mean.”

* * *

“RETREAT!” 

The call startled them from their bickering. The two of them shared a hasty look before Tobirama quickly undid his makeshift board as Izuna made his way kicking, and sweeping, and hiding, to destroy any evidence of their being here and more importantly, of the treason they had just concocted.

Giving the area a once over before they left, Izuna turned to face Tobirama with resolve in his eyes. But the Senju couldn’t help but be worried about the obstacles his brother was going to face. Tobirama had his Anija, but at this point, Izuna had nobody. 

Just as the Uchiha bent his legs in preparation to leap away, back to his brother, his clan and _Tajima_ , Tobirama reached out and grabbed Izuna’s shoulders in both hands and spun him around. 

The Senju met his brother’s questioning gaze and murmured softly, just loud enough for the other to hear. “It is of the highest priority that you stay _safe_. Even the slightest mishap may give the game away. If Tajima even had the slightest inkling that you were drawing power away from him-”

“I know,” Izuna said just as seriously. “I know the dangers just as well as you.”

Tobirama shook his head, white hair following the movement. Then he huffed, “If it becomes too dangerous… Promise me you’ll back off.” He choked, stumbling over his words. “I can’t lose you too.” 

“Aniki,” Izuna pulled his brother into a crushing hug. “You won’t lose me. I promise.” 

Breaking the somber atmosphere, Izuna stood back with a cheeky smirk. “I didn’t take my Aniki for a coward! Besides, we can’t just back out now! We’ve made it all this way! Sheesh, I can’t believe that I have to remind you of this.” Then the Uchiha put on a challenging look. “After all,” he eyed the anxious Senju, “we Uchiha can’t let the Senju one up us! We need to prove that we’re superior!” 

“Hah,” Tobirama huffed a brief laugh, “speak for yourself brat.” He gave him a shaky smile as he taunted back. “You Uchiha couldn’t outdo the Senju in any field of challenge even if you wanted to.” 

But Tobirama couldn’t let his precious brother go without one more warning. “Take it slow and steady. Don’t rush it.”

“Of course, Aniki.”

“And above all stay safe.”

“That goes for you too.”

They nod in unison then as one, they leap off in different directions towards the same things: their clans, danger, and hopefully a better future. 

They’re going to have to play hard but also _play to win_ , because to lose would be devastating beyond reckoning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this chapter did not want to be written…


	8. intruders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s all fun and games until someone spoils it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”

Tobirama clicked his tongue in annoyance. Izuna had gotten it all wrong. “No,” he pointed to another part of the scrawled diagram on the ground they were sitting in front of. “We need to introduce the most receptive of our clan to the idea of peace first, _before_ we make any grand speeches.” 

“I knew that.” The flush spread its way across Izuna’s face as he mumbled. “But why can’t we do the grand speeches before the private meetings?” 

A sigh. Tobirama despaired. Izuna clearly hadn’t listened to the 250 point plan in enough detail. Their last meeting, they had gone over the broad overview but now Tobirama was going through all the minutiae that such a plan demanded. Neither had really started putting the plan into motion yet and Tobirama was starting to think that, at least for Izuna, that was a good thing.

“ _Obviously_ , because we need to plant the seeds in the clans’ minds using these points.” Tobirama jabbed a finger at point 137. “If there are other people vouching for peace and showing support openly, then they’re more likely to also lend their support to us. Especially if it’s from those they trust - their friends and families. We’re Anija and Madara’s brothers and clan heirs; we’re automatically biased. And our people haven’t forgotten the scandal of our brothers meeting secretly.” That was what point 72 was meant to overcome.

“It’s too complicated!” Moaned Izuna as he dropped his head into his hands in defeat. He scrubbed tiredly at his eyes. “It’s never going to happen.” Tobirama shook his head. Izuna was so dramatic, he could probably even rival Anija in theatrics.

Peace is indeed a long way away.

* * *

There were feet in Tobirama’s face. They hadn’t been there before he blinked, he thought. 

“Can you move your feet?”

“I don’t know,” came the cheeky response, “Can I?”

“Move your feet!” Growled Tobirama.

The feet moved.

“Not that way!” Tobirama shoved the offending limbs away from his face.

The feet moved back and wiggled invitingly.

Tobirama smirked. He had an idea. If that was how Izuna wanted to play it, then that was fine by him.

He tickled the foot.

Izuna’s cackling turned to shrieks of laughter.

* * *

“Finished?” 

“Yes.”

Izuna flopped down, tossing his sword carelessly to the side as Tobirama finished anchoring the last seal to the Sharingan-cast genjutsu.

This time, Tobirama and Izuna were hiding behind a large outcropping of rocks right in front of a cliff face, carefully chosen so no-one could approach them without their knowledge. They had chosen rocks tall enough that they couldn’t be seen behind. Let others assume that they were fighting. Neither of the two were going to dissuade their clansmen on that notion.

Hashirama and Madara would worry about their respective brothers. But for all the Senju and Uchiha professed to be at war, neither would ever hurt the other severely enough for their little brothers to be concerned, the weight of the shared past a barrier between blows. Since a little deception never hurt anyone and neither Tobirama nor Izuna were in any actual danger from each other, the pair decided that their brothers could live with a little worry. 

Besides, it was for the greater good. 

Tobirama and Izuna _were_ preparing for their clans to accept peace, no matter what anyone said about their methods. Hashirama and Madara would thank them later. 

But for now, after what happened in their last meeting about the 250 point plan, they were taking a break. Stress, after all, is bad for productivity.

“Hah!” Izuna slammed his hand down and moved it to reveal a homemade Ace and Jack card. “That adds up to twenty-one!” 

Tobirama threw his head back and groaned, the perfect picture of exasperation. “How are you so good at this?” 

“It’s natural talent. Clearly I was the one who inherited it all.” Izuna paused dramatically before looking at Tobirama through the corner of his eye. 

Tobirama looked up from his own hand (ten and a nine) and narrowed his red eyes. “Are you counting cards?”

“Tch! Baseless accusations. Such a shame, you know, pretty face but no brains,” simpered Izuna, a hand held dramatically in front of his slightly opened mouth.

“And besides, you can’t say that anymore,” Tobirama deadpanned. Sometimes he truly wondered about Izuna’s sanity. It seems the Uchiha had actually _exacerbated_ Izuna’s personality. Or he could be remembering wrongly and this was how it always was. “That makes no sense. We’re not biologically related anymore.” 

“Tomato. Tomahto. It’s all semantics anyway.” 

“You,” as the silence lengthened, Izuna leaned forward almost subconsciously, eager to hear the rest of the sentence. Tobirama fixed him with a level stare as he finished. “Are a menace.” Izuna sweatdropped, disappointed at the lacklustre response. His brother was such a potato. “Why are you like this?” Tobirama despaired, looking into the distance as if it would hold the answers to all of life’s questions.

“I think your ears need cleaning because I’ve already told you: _natural talent_.” 

“That’s it!” Tobirama leapt at him, hurling all 150 kilograms or so of armoured Senju at the unsuspecting Uchiha currently rolling around on the ground laughing so hard tears were escaping, like an immature and undignified brat. “I’ll show you ‘natural talent’!”

God, some days Tobirama still can’t believe that he actually had his precious baby brother back. Irritating pain in the ass and all.

Izuna screeched as he tried to escape his Aniki’s noogie. He could always feel it days later, and it has only gotten stronger after he became Tobirama. Turns out that life or death battles and daily training really made a difference in quality. He would know. He would _really_ know. (His head throbbed in phantom pains at the memory.)

Tobirama _clanked_ in his armour as they rolled around on the sandy ground. He was much more protected than Izuna - he tried on many occasions to convince his brother to don more protection, but Izuna insisted that it ‘stifled his magnificence.’ Tobirama didn’t know what place ‘magnificence’ had on the battlefield, but Izuna _was_ an adult and capable of making his own choices. It couldn’t be too bad a decision, seeing as Izuna had gone out without armour all these years and was still alive.

“Ok! Ok!” Izuna raised his arms in mock surrender. “I give! Uncle! Stop it already.”

“Say it,” growled Tobirama playfully. “I won’t let you go until you do so.” 

“Say what?” Izuna played dumb. Maybe if he pretended not to know what his brother was talking about, then it might work. There was a first time for everything. 

“You know what I’m talking about.” 

“Nooooo?”

“Alright then. You clearly need another lesson with Tobirama-sensei.” Knuckles cracked and a hand descended ominously towards Izuna’s scalp like the butcher’s knife on the chopping block. 

“You’re the best!” Izuna squeaked out rapidly as he frantically squirmed away from _the hand_. It was futile. Tobirama wouldn’t let him go unless he wanted to. “You’re the best!”

(Izuna could probably pull out of it if he got serious, but it was just a bit of harmless fun with Aniki.)

Tobirama released him, knuckles rubbing harshly onto the top of his head, before retreating to his spot with a sad _clank_. 

“Alright,” Tobirama cleared his throat. After all the yelling, it was a little sore. He brandished the cards. “Round two?”

Izuna narrowed his eyes. “No more noogies?”

“I don’t know,” shrugged Tobirama innocently, the shoulder plates of his blue plated armour moving up and down with him. “Depends on you.”

“Ugh, fine.” Izuna brushed himself off and sat opposite Tobirama, picking up the cards in front of him. “Hit me.” 

But he wouldn’t squander any moment with his brother. The time they spent (not) battling was few and far between enough as it was. 

“Twenty-one again!” Izuna crowded as he watched Tobirama frown and count on his fingers. “I am the master of luck.”

Tobirama’s head shot up and he squinted dubiously at the Uchiha. “You can’t master luck. Luck refers to success or failure through _chance._ It is illogical-”

“Shhh.” Fingers covered Tobirama’s lips. “Just admit it.” 

Tobirama was just about to retort exactly where that admittance could go, when two shinobi crashed into their haven with all the grace of a child first learning to tree walk. 

They spotted for the briefest moment, a Senju mon and Uchiha mon on a kunoichi and shinobi respectively, before the two newcomers jumped apart with a battle cry and allowed the pair to take a closer look at the identities of the intruders.

The pair gasped in unison.

“Touka-nee?”

“Hikaku?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been looking forward to this chapter! The story originally wasn’t meant to have Touka or Hikaku, but they snuck their way in anyway.


	9. confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touka and Hikaku discover something they weren’t supposed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”

“Touka-nee?” “Hikaku?”

Tobirama and Izuna only had a heartbeat’s warning when two warriors entered their hiding spot. Izuna barely managed to squeak out his cousin’s name, and he heard his Aniki do the same.

One of their first meetings together, Tobirama and Izuna had exchanged descriptions and names of their loved ones. They made a pact that they would not kill these shinobi if they had a chance not to. Injure them, sure. But not kill them. Unfortunately, neither could promise the same for all Senju or Uchiha, as they had to keep their fathers’ suspicion off their backs. Izuna had told his brother about Uchiha Hikaku, his first cousin and one of the persons that Tobirama had mentioned was his second cousin, Senju Touka.

With that in mind, Izuna connected the unfamiliar face to name and he noted Tobirama shift on his feet slightly as he did the same.

‘What were they doing here? How had neither of them noticed? What were they going to do? Would they attack? Whose side would he even take? His cousin? His brother’s?’ along with a million other unvoiced questions, whirled through his head like a tornado does when picking up debris. 

At his side, he saw Tobirama release the Water Dragon that he had called up reflexively, even as Izuna cancelled the Katon Jutsu he had prepared. They were still however; in the instinctive protective stance they had taken up when Touka and Hikaku crashed into the clearing. With the cliff wall at their back, Tobirama had moved to stand in front of Izuna, guarding the front, even as Izuna took a half-step behind him to guard the sides. 

The intruders looked confused as they took notice of their company. But like all shinobi had to be, they were good at rolling with the punches. 

“Uchiha Weasel, get away from him!” Yelled Touka, brandishing her naginata in an unsubtle threat. 

“Step away from Izuna-sama, Senju Demon!” Hikaku cried as he readied a spread of sharp shuriken in both hands.

Neither Tobirama nor Izuna moved. 

Belatedly, Izuna realised that Tobirama was snarling. He was acting just like a cornered animal which - Izuna cast his eyes to the wall at their back - he was. 

“Izuna-sama!” Hikaku called out in panic as he swept an arm out to indicate the empty space behind him leading out and away to the main battlefield. “Get away from him! I’ll hold him off, just go!” 

All the blood rushed from Hikaku’s face in despair, his naturally fair Uchiha complexion somehow managing that feat, after a few seconds passed and Izuna remained where he was.

“Please!” Hopelessness added itself to Hikaku’s features as his cousin once again refused to heed his request.

Touka’s eyes however, revealed a hard light. “Uchiha Weasel,” the Senju kunoichi addressed Izuna again, “Step away from him or face the consequences!” She levelled her naginata’s point until it was at the height of his heart. The edge of the blade glinted wickedly in the sunlight.

Tobirama inhaled sharply at Izuna’s side.

In hindsight, that was a warning that should have been heeded. 

“I will pull out your entrails from your mouth and you will taste every inch of it as it slides past your tongue! I will tear your limbs apart agonisingly piece by piece and beat you to death with your own arms! I will-”

“ _I_ will cut down _anyone_ who dares lay a hand on him!” Thundered Tobirama as he shifted to cover Izuna more. 

Tobirama’s snarl grew more pronounced even as growls emanated menacingly from his throat in a clear animalistic threat. He looked quite feral and deadly serious, all lines and sharp angles with teeth ever so slightly pointed as his Hatake heritage came to the forefront. When he had mentioned his Hatake lineage in passing, Izuna never thought it would manifest quite so strongly.

The outcropping of rocks quieted instantly in the wake of that pronouncement.

The Senju kunoichi reared back and couldn’t look more surprised if someone slapped her with a fish. “Tobirama…” she whispered and then determined, she continued in a louder voice. “Why do you protect this Uchiha bastard?”

“Obviously because he’s going to take him and experiment on him!” It was Hikaku. Hysterical with fear, he was the one who spoke up. “Everyone knows the Senju Demon does live experiments on his enemies. He tortures them to death! It is kinder to die than face even the slightest possibility of capture. Fight him in an honest battle, or do you have no honour, monster?” 

Although Tobirama gave no indication of hearing that, Izuna hid a wince. He knew well the sting of those words and the weight of them that his brother carried even now.

“He’s my friend.” There was only the slightest pause before the last word since the truth was impossible to believe. That and the newcomers would most likely take it as some scheme by the enemy clan on their spare clan heirs. Even so, Tobirama had spoken with conviction. “So, I will say it once and for all. This is your final warning. _Back. Down_.” 

Izuna knew that the words were aimed at both newcomers, even though Tobirama was looking at his cousin. He glanced over. It seemed Hikaku knew it too by the way he tried to mask his shiver.

* * *

(Touka stared at her cousin in bewilderment and she could spot the Uchiha (‘Hikaku’, was it?) doing much the same. She had never seen Tobirama act so aggressively before. Of course, towards enemies, but never towards his family. Towards her! 

She knew that Tobirama was a person who felt deeply. Once someone had gained his trust, he would do anything to protect it. She could only recall a handful of people that could claim that: Hashirama, herself, a couple of others, and his younger brothers so long ago. Never had he turned his protective instincts on a non-Senju before. Much less an Uchiha! 

Tobirama wasn’t a man who trusted easily, but if he said so (oh, there he was silently signalling her that he wasn’t being forced), then she would trust him. But at the slightest sign-

Touka lowered her sword slightly as she gave her cousin a slight nod. She wouldn’t interfere _for now_ , but she hoped her cousin wouldn’t make her regret it.

Regardless, the only way to navigate this new unknown was to _watch closely_.)

* * *

Izuna stepped around Tobirama, neatly dodging the arm he swept out behind him that was meant to keep him safe behind the hulking Senju. He pretended not to see his cousin jolt in fear for Izuna’s safety at the movement.

“It’s true. An-,” Izuna cleared his throat. That slip of the tongue would have been difficult to explain. “Tobi here,” he jabbed a finger in Tobirama’s direction, “is my friend.”

Tobirama grunted in assent, still warily eyeing the other Uchiha although he did spare some watchful glances at the kunoichi.

“Your...friend?” Even though Izuna had addressed both the newcomers, it was Touka who spoke up.

Her cousin gave her a single sharp nod.

She scoffed, sarcasm shining through in every word. “I’m sorry but that’s a little hard to believe.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with the Senju.”

Touka glared at Hikaku with all the hatred deserving of the enemy in a generations long war. Hikaku instinctively recoiled at the poisonous look before he gave himself an imperceptible shake and steeled himself. He would not show weakness in front of the Senju. Especially not in front of Senju Tobirama.

Hikaku’s knuckles were white around the hilt of his weapon and he gathered his courage.

All it took was the smallest of shifts, but Tobirama’s head whipped around and red eyes zeroed in on him. Touka in the background readied herself for a fight. Perhaps she would get a chance to bloody her sword today.

“I told you to _back down!_ ” 

None of them spoke after that, but everyone grew twitchier the longer they waited, fingering their weapons and eying one another with suspicion. 

Touka was incredibly twitchy, despite her unnoticed acquiescence to Tobirama. Hikaku was worse, and of course Izuna’s Aniki had stepped back in front of him and now returned to keep trying to shove his brother just a little more behind him. 

Then finally, like the desperate gasp of a drowning man, the floodgates opened and Touka burst forward in a blur of speed, her hair whipping around her face. Hikaku was not a half-second behind her as fire bloomed around him like the gaping maw of a dragon.

With his heart in his throat, Izuna moved to intercept - which of the newcomers he didn’t know - but Tobirama moved faster.

Spiralling threads of water twisted themselves around their cousins’ waists and snaked their way down to their ankles and around their wrists, binding them tightly and forcefully halting the two in their attacks. It also wound its way around their neck, pressing against their windpipes lightly in a threatening display of power. This was a graphic reminder that Tobirama was not a man to be crossed. 

“Enough!” Roared Tobirama as he manipulated their watery bonds with a wry twist of his fingers, to carry them to opposite ends of the hideaway. Both of his victims struggled futilely and yelled, accusations and obscenities blending into an unholy cacophony. Tobirama retaliated in kind, yelling back at them but it only exacerbated the situation. Like the water he wielded, everything was spiralling out of control.

Izuna stepped forward, hands held placatingly in front of him. 

Memories of fire and loss still haunted him, and fears of losing what he just got back turned his arms to lead and his heart to ashes. But it was absolute pandemonium and if it were allowed to run unchecked...their plans would be over before it had even begun.

It was up to him now.

* * *

“Uh, so we’re going to do introductions,” Izuna clapped his hands together in faux excitement. “Let’s each say our dislikes and likes. I’ll go first.” He took a shuddering breath and Tobirama leaned ever so slightly against him in encouragement. Izuna pasted a smile on as he continued his spiel. “Yes, right. My name is Uchiha Izuna. I don’t like natto and getting thrown in the koi pond. I like eating mochi and _my friend, Tobirama_.” He stared challengingly at Hikaku, daring him to say something. Luckily for him, Hikaku remained silent.

They were sitting down in a circle now, _like civilised people did_. Tobirama was sitting between Izuna and Touka, while Hikaku sat opposite Izuna. Their weapons were stashed in various corners and definitely out of arm's reach. 

Izuna didn’t really remember exactly what had happened between the yelling and introductions. He knew it involved some _really_ fast talking and a couple of heart-pounding close scares, but it turned out successful. The whole thing was honestly an adrenaline fuelled blur. It was a real miracle that Izuna had (barely) prevented any bloodshed. 

The real test now was to keep it non-violent.

Tobirama went next, following after Izuna with ease. “Senju Tobirama. I dislike unfinished paperwork. I like...grilled fish and Izuna.” He finished decisively. Red eyes looked expectantly at his cousin.

“Touka. I don’t like Uchiha and I like lopping off the heads of my enemies,” she glared pointedly at the Uchiha sitting next to her. Izuna held his breath and hoped that Hikaku wouldn’t rise to the bait. He also waited to see if she would add anything else. She did not. 

It was better than he hoped for. At least the Senju kunoichi only insulted them once.

“Ok then!” Izuna turned to his cousin now, heart still pounding erratically in his chest and stomach clenched uncomfortably. If he were a lesser shinobi, there would have been a reappearance of his breakfast on the ground in front of them by now. “Your turn!”

“Uchiha Hikaku. I love my clan _and would do anything to see them safe_ ,” he shot a look at the two Senju, sparing an especially vile look for Tobirama. “I dislike,” and trailed off. Izuna sent him an encouraging look. “Pebbles in my shoe.” Hikaku wore open toed sandals that pebbles had no chance of being trapped in. Izuna flicked his eyes skyward and desperately prayed to God or any higher power that no one mentioned it.

Besides all that, Izuna was deeply impressed with his cousin. It was an incredibly restrained response, coming from an Uchiha. He loved his clan but he knew very well their flaws.

This was good. Real progress. He gave himself a mental pat on the back.

“Great!” Izuna clapped. “Now we’ve introduced ourselves, we’re all friends!”

The kunoichi and Hikaku swiveled around to stare at him incredulously and he could feel Tobirama stiffen in embarrassment next to him. He was probably regretting being related to him, but Izuna didn’t see him doing anything helpful so he could deal with it. Izuna has done much crazier things in this life, but it seemed to be a habit he picked up that he blurts out whatever he’s thinking in stressful situations. The standards for ‘stressful’ were on a whole ‘nother level compared to Before. Besides, usually Nii-san pinched him to bring him back from the brink of hyperventilation but Nii-san wasn’t here, so his mouth had all the freedom in the world to run wild.

Anyhow, his words were summarily ignored.

He was also sure that he looked a little wild-eyed by now, but no-one made any remarks. Hikaku, because he didn’t want to give the enemy any more ammunition than he thought they already had, and also because he was just polite like that. Touka, because like any shinobi worth their salt, facing an Uchiha on the battlefield, did not look anywhere near his eyes. In fact, she was staring in the area just above his right ear. His Aniki didn’t mention it because although his face betrayed nothing, he was just as nervous as Izuna was, fidgeting imperceptibly against his arm.

“I’m sorry, but _what the fuck is going on_?!” The verbal explosion came from Touka. Izuna remembered belatedly what Tobirama had said about his cousin during that earlier conversation. ‘Headstrong, fierce and a no nonsense kunoichi. Beware of her temper, should you get on her wrong side.’

Oops. It was a bit too late for that now.

Hikaku’s right eye twitched at the outburst and his hands arranged themselves in a manner suspiciously similar to a hand seal. Izuna quelled him with a stern look and Hikaku reluctantly relented with a huff.

“Aren’t you enemies?” She continued, ignorant of the exchange between the two Uchiha. She was now waving a hand wildly between her cousin and Izuna. Luckily, she had been too preoccupied to notice Hikaku and Izuna’s little exchange.

“I would like to know that too,” added Hikaku mildly, clearly taking great pains to moderate his tone. It was obvious to anyone with a working brain that he was scared of the Senju Ghost.

Izuna looked frantically at Tobirama and as close siblings do, they had a silent conversation.

* * *

The conversation went something like this. 

_‘You know how this looks, right?’_

A white eyebrow ticked up sarcastically. _‘I’m starting to see that, yes.’_

Panic. _‘What are we going to do?’_

_‘...we have to tell them.’_

Coal-coloured eyes widened in sheer disbelief. _‘Have you lost your mind?! We haven’t even started on our plan yet!’_

 _‘Do you trust your cousin?’_ Even in the frenzy and heat of fighting, Hikaku never lost his cool head and collected air. Straight-forward, dependable, and loyal...yes, Izuna had to admit that Hikaku could be trusted.

_‘Yes, I do. With my life.’_

_‘The same goes with Touka-nee.’_ Red eyes narrowed in concentration. _‘Alright. I have a plan.’_

A politely sceptical silence followed. 

_‘We’ll just tell them a...partial truth.’_

Tobirama didn’t need to be looking straight at Izuna to have guessed that his brother would not like that. Protest was written all over his face.

 _‘They could help with our plan. We_ need _more allies. Right now, we have none.’_

_‘...and two are better than none. Fine. So be it. But it’s on your head if this fails and we all die.’_

_‘Let’s not think that way.’_

* * *

Izuna opened his mouth and collected his courage with about the same success as someone collecting water with a sieve. 

He closed his mouth.

His Aniki, thankfully, caught the distressed fluctuations in his chakra, even suppressed as was the standard for out-the-compound missions and definitely in tense situations. Which this definitely counted as. 

“Peace,” Tobirama said. “We’re doing this for peace.”

“What is ‘this’ anyway?” Hikaku inquired.

Tobirama looked at Izuna as if saying that since it was his clansmen and cousin that was asking; therefore he should explain. Izuna rolled his eyes and took the cue, now having the jumpstart of courage needed to do so.

“Simply put, we’re tired.” Izuna gestured vaguely in the direction of where their clans were still ferociously attacking each other. And indeed, screams and blasts could be heard from beyond the borders of their hideaway. “We’re tired of all the death, the pain, and the unending fighting.”

Tobirama continued seamlessly, “Therefore, we put aside our differences and now we are working together to make peace.” 

The expressions on Touka and Hikaku’s faces were unreadable. It seemed like Tobirama wasn’t planning to say anymore and the silence stretched on, getting more awkward the longer it lasted. 

Izuna hurriedly continued the explanation before the listeners did something rash. He opened his mouth and almost like it was against his will, out spilled an overview of their plan. Tobirama jumped in with additions that he neglected to mention and continued on where he would falter, words lodged in his throat like a particularly hard lump of food to swallow. It was explained in haphazard detail, yet in a way that it seemed wholly complete and utterly foolproof. The fates smiled on the wordsmith today, passion ringing true through each sentence, as if they were carefully shaped by an expert craftsman and handed to him to read off. 

He managed to hide his own trepidation, feeling it crawl all over his skin and giving him goosebumps, even as Tobirama’s expressionless face gave nothing away.

Touka and Hikaku agreed, all the while eyeing each other, that a world without war would be great, if it were even possible. They breathed a sigh of relief and then Izuna (with Tobirama looming sternly next to him) managed to extricate promises that they wouldn’t tell anyone - not a soul. In particular not their fathers and their brothers, and the latter especially deserved to hear it from their younger brothers first. 

Now, this was the hardest part.

“So?” Izuna asked them with his heart in his throat. “Will you help us?” They were skipping several steps in their 250 point plan, and that made him nervous. But Tobirama was right and since the opportunity presented themselves like a neatly wrapped package, they might as well take advantage of it.

* * *

“I need to have a _word_ with my cousin first.” 

The declaration dripped like poison from Touka’s lips. She had so many questions. First off: ‘What was her cousin thinking? Friends? With an _Uchiha_?! Much less the _Uchiha Weasel_?!’ Second of all, that the explanation was simply unacceptable. And besides, Tobirama had never shown even the slightest inkling that he was interested in peace in all the years she’d known him. That was his brother’s job. It was always Hashirama, crowing about fantasies like _peace with the Uchiha_. 

Touka pursed her lips. It probably _was_ Hashirama. He had filled his brother’s head full of idealistic and impossible thoughts.

Peace wasn’t a problem. In fact, it sounded too good to be true! Some days, she found it hard to get up in the morning when the suffocating reminder of her mother’s body - dead at the hands of an Uchiha and Hagoromo scouting party - filled her thoughts and weighed her down, keeping her tied to the bed. So, yes! If her clan, her _family_ , wouldn’t have to feel this pain anymore - that there might one day be Senju who never felt the biting loss and who never would experience feeling like a chunk of their heart was torn out, who would never feel that _empty_ hole...

But not when it could get her cousin killed! 

The kunoichi only had very few people she cared for left in this world. If Tobirama was taken from her, she probably wouldn’t survive. He was the first one to have faith in her. Her cousin, banged up and bruised in the healers’ halls where she was apprenticed and hated it with an all-consuming passion, was the only one to believe Touka could be just like the boys out training on the field. That she could be a _shinobi_ , a warrior and fighter. That she could proudly represent the Senju on the battlefield.

Touka needed to do what she was best at: smacking some sense into her idiot cousin.

She strode over decisively and grabbed Tobirama’s sleeve and the wrist below in a crushing grip. It was sure to leave dark bruises afterwards, but Touka couldn’t find it in herself to spare a thought for that - her mind otherwise occupied by his foolishness! 

She marched them both over to a corner, Tobirama allowing himself to be tugged along. When Touka finally stopped, she whirled around and roughly shoved her cousin up against a conveniently placed wall. His red eyes blinked at the suddenness of her action, but he otherwise stayed still and let Touka do as she pleased. 

“What are you doing? One of your infernal experiments must have rotted your brain away because _you clearly don’t have one_!” She hissed lowly at Tobirama who was still standing expectantly in front of her. Touka grabbed fistfuls of his signature white fur in both hands and gripped it so tightly that if it were any harder, tufts would be pulled out.

“How can you trust _Uchiha Izuna_? What were you thinking?” She continued her tirade, the insides of her chest tightening in fear and shimmering below it, anger. “ _Were you even thinking_?” The irate kunoichi demanded of her cousin and shook him roughly. He merely let himself be pulled along with the motion, imitating one of those limp and water-logged vegetables that were inedible. “Well?!”

Tobirama just stood there quietly, taking everything she threw at him.

“Do you know what he’s done? How many of us, he has killed? How many of us, his _family_ has killed? How-” 

“Haven’t we done the same thing?” 

That softly uttered question had Touka sharply biting off her next words, her anger temporarily abated by the curiosity of Tobirama’s next words.

“Haven’t we killed to defend our family? Haven’t we killed to defend our friends? Haven’t we killed for revenge, for clan pride, for the same multitude of reasons that they have too? Haven’t we killed countless Uchiha, just because they were Uchiha?”

Touka wanted to deny it so badly, but she couldn’t. Not when the pieces were inescapably and unavoidably laid out in front of her.

“Touka-nee, the Uchiha are people too, with lives as vibrant and precious as our own.” Her cousin fixed piercing red eyes onto hers, the shade echoing images of every Uchiha slaughtered mercilessly at her hands. “No,” Tobirama shook his head, not releasing her from his gaze. “We are no better than them and we cannot judge them as such.” 

“What say you? Will you help us?”

“But,” Touka managed to choke out around the weight of her epiphany, her head still reeling at the revelation. Logically she knew they were human, after all they bled and died just like any Senju, but she didn’t-

“Izuna-”

“He is my friend,” Tobirama declared with complete certainty and no trace of hesitation. “And I swear to you, Touka-nee,” she mustered a brief nod at his words. “That he swears no harm. Not to me and not to any Senju if he can help it.” 

Several long heartbeats echo in her ears, before Touka hears herself distantly saying, “Yes, I will.”

Her cousin smiles then, something sharp and fierce but there’s a promise hidden in there somewhere. A promise of a better world.

Touka can’t help but smile back and let herself tentatively hope. 

(But he’d better not make her regret it.)

* * *

Hikaku watched Senju Touka drag the White Demon away by the proverbial ear.

He wasn’t naive enough to let them leave his eyesight, should they get reinforcements without the Uchiha’s knowledge. Thus, only once the Senju had moved out of earshot, one Senju ushering the other away, was Hikaku willing to address Izuna-sama.

“Izuna-sama,” Hikaku was pleased at the shivers running down his cousin’s spine. Good. He deserved it for being an idiot. “What is going on?”

“It's exactly like I told you!” Exclaimed the Uchiha second heir defensively. 

“I’m not stupid and I’ve watched them. The Senju can’t hear us now. _You can tell me the real reason_.” 

“I told you already, Hikaku! Why can’t you understand that I’m not lying!”

“Because there’s no way that you’re working willingly with the Senju Demon! There has to be something he’s holding over you!”

(Mamma Mia, here we go again, Izuna thought miserably.)

Hikaku still couldn’t believe it - everyone seemed to have lost their minds and his cousin most of all!

That was...that was the _Senju Ghost_ he had hid behind? Had Izuna-sama lost his mind?! The wraith was going to _kill_ him, didn’t he see? Senju Tobirama was his rival and everyone knew that Senju Tobirama was Izuna-sama’s kill. It was a fact as solid and immutable as the sun rising and setting each day. Hikaku had heart palpitations every time Izuna-sama left to go face him. He practically collapsed in relief after every battle when Izuna-sama would return home, bloodied but joking with his clansmen and poking fun at Madara-sama. Hikaku would _not_ lose Izuna to the White Demon! 

Hikaku made sure to explain this with all the alarm the delivery necessitated.

Paces away, Hikaku observed Touka hiss furiously away to Tobirama. He was deflecting verbal barbs like he deflected kunai on the battlefield: graceful and with force. 

Izuna-sama wasn’t even doing him the favour of listening! He was watching the Senju instead. Hikaku felt his inner fire boil over from his barely contained rage. No, this would not do. 

“Listen to me!” Hikaku punctured his words with a good shaking. His cousin deserved it. Izuna-sama turned away forlornly to his own hissed rebuke.

Rage filled his being, and he didn’t remember the next few minutes in great detail. Hikaku could only remember a torrent of words and the two Uchiha shoving each other while screaming things whose topic exactly, he couldn’t recall.

“I’m telling you again _for the last time_. No, I have not been coerced. No, there’s no blackmail involved. No, he did not do anything to me. No, he didn’t make me do anything either. No! This isn’t a plan to trap or kill him! He’s my _friend_!” Izuna punctuated every ‘no’ with a cutting gesture to emphasise his resolve.

A pair of Sharingan scrutinised his every motion - every tiny fluctuation in his expression was closely examined. Izuna fought against the urge to fidget as he was subjected to his cousin’s ministrations. Finding nothing, Hikaku nodded and stepped back from where he had shoved his face right up against Izuna’s during his defence.  
Izuna took a much-needed sigh of relief.

* * *

Just as the conversation wrapped up between Izuna and his cousin, he spotted the two Senju making their way back. 

Tobirama’s cousin looked pensive as she trudged over. The kunoichi was clearly reluctant to help, even if she had grudgingly accepted the help. But when she looked up and addressed the two Uchiha, all traces of former emotion were wiped clean and replaced by a challenging stare.

Izuna met his Aniki’s eyes and what was reflected in them made his shoulders sag in relief. 

“I’m in, Uchiha.” Touka sneered, “Are you?”

“I’m in too,” sneered Hikaku right back at her.

The kunoichi ignored the Uchiha’s response as she swivelled around to face Izuna. Despite them both knowing the risk she was taking, Touka stared Izuna dead in his coal-black eyes that could turn to Sharingan-red in less than a second. 

“You,” Touka fearlessly strode up to Izuna with all the confidence of a woman who knows her own worth. The fringe covered her face but did nothing to hide the danger in it. Izuna inched away at the sight. “Better not hurt my cousin in any way or I swear-”

A not-so-subtle cough came from the other Senju. 

Touka switched tracks, the reminder of Tobirama’s earlier threats lurked unforgotten in the tense atmosphere. “You’d better not-” and she proceeded to devolve into a string of incredibly restrained threats and warnings regarding her cousin’s safety around Izuna and what she would do to him in that event. 

Naturally, it was coated liberally in insults which Izuna openly winced at. Some of them were quite descriptive and painted a gruesome picture in his mind. 

Like a spark near explosives, or chakra near a paper tag, it set off a chain reaction. 

Hikaku took that as a cue and started threatening Tobirama. He must have been listening and taking notes from Touka, because Izuna had never heard him so creative before. 

Tobirama was gruffly standing there, arms crossed with stark red eyes framed by white hair held back by the infamous happuri.

God bless this man. Really! Izuna loved his cousin but it was extremely obvious that Hikaku was nervous. 

Cowed yet courageous in the face of the intimidating Senju Demon. 

Izuna shook his head in dismay at the sight. The scene would be funny in any other circumstance. His cousin looked not unlike a small puppy yapping at a big hunting hound, what with Tobirama in his fur and striking blue armour. He simply stood there, back ramrod straight as he listened in stoic silence to Hikaku. 

Tobirama let Hikaku have his fun for ten minutes before he got tired of the insults. Hikaku’s new creativity didn’t last long, because Izuna could swear he had heard that one before. 

“Mhm. I admire your bravery, Uchiha Hikaku. Not many would dare address me as such.” 

That was absolutely the wrong thing to say, coming from a man with Tobirama’s reputation. Doubly so because it was to an Uchiha - even one as collected as Hikaku usually was. Izuna saw his cousin bristle in indignation and he wanted to slap himself. His brother always had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth and this was perhaps the worst time to do so. Izuna could see it now: this is how it all goes down in flames. Disastrously. A catastrophe! They might as well just give up now!

(He definitely inherited the Uchiha-genes for dramatism.)

Tobirama bulldozed right over Hikaku’s sputtering before he could do anything. Like attack, for instance. 

“But fear not. As I stated before, I do not wish any harm on your ‘Izuna-sama’.” Tobirama chucked around his title. “Or on you.” 

“My-” Tobirama looked over at Touka and Izuna who had quietened by this point and were watching the exchange closely. He corrected himself with a quick glance at Izuna. Izuna gave him an encouraging nod and a thumbs up. “Our goal is peace. For our clan. For our brothers,” here he paused imperceptibly. “ _For the children_.”

“And in time,” Tobirama added with the same gravity and decisiveness he dedicated to his earlier words. “I hope that we can one day be friends.” Hikaku gave a little start. That was obviously the furthest thing from expected that you could get. 

“Or failing that,” the Senju blithely continued. “We can at least work together professionally in our new village.”

Silence.

“You mean that,” whispered Hikaku incredulously. His eyebrows looked like it was going to fly off his face, while the rest of him had gone deathly white at the epiphany. Actually, Izuna mused, his cousin looked a little shaky as well. “You really mean that. All of it.”

“I wouldn’t say it if I were not serious.”

“That’s true!” Izuna piped up, voice a tad bit squeaky. “Tobi never says anything he doesn’t mean!”

He staunchly refused to mention all the empty threats against his person after a round of cards. They didn’t count.

As if it were planned, the retreat call comes.

Hikaku and Touka more than likely felt very much on edge with the extended close proximity to their enemies (and now their allies), and entirely unexpected infodump. So it was no surprise that they grasped the opportunity it gives them and only the wisp of wind and disturbed earth left behind them betrayed their presence.

Tobirama and Izuna shared one last searching look as they bound away on their cousins’ tails back to their respective clans. They can only hope they haven’t misplaced their trust in their cousins. As valuable as Senju Touka and Uchiha Hikaku are as allies in this high-stakes game, if they speak...

Well, if even one of them speaks, it’s all over before it's even started.

* * *

**[Omake]**

**Izuna and Touka, during the time Hikaku threatened Tobirama:**

“No, I swear that I mean your clan no harm. No, I don’t have anything on Tobirama. No! I am absolutely not forcing him to do this in any way! If anything, I was the one who was forced.” Izuna muttered the last bit a tad annoyed. If he knew he was going to be saying much the same things he told his cousin, he would have just waited until he could tell them both at the same time.

Touka gave him a pensive look at that, but he didn’t see as he continued his endless string of reassurances. 

“And _no_ ,” he continued at a louder volume, “I swear upon my eyes that I won’t hurt Tobi. If I ever do, you have my full permission to do anything you’d like to me.” He finished seriously.

“I didn’t need your permission, Uchiha.” She spat and then paused thoughtfully. 

“What’s with the nickname?” 

“Wha-?” That was not what Izuna had expected. “You mean ‘Tobi’?”

“Yes, exactly that. He doesn’t allow anyone to call him that, not even Hashirama on most days. My cousin said that it sounded childish and lame. The last person who tried it, got a punch straight to the face. Granted, he was a pompous smug asshole and half the clan dreamed of punching the guy.”

“But he was the one who suggested that I call him that?” Izuna thoughts ran in every direction. If his brother hated the nickname so much, why had he asked Izuna to use it? He must have known that any Senju would find it immediately suspicious. Or perhaps it was a signal to others of the deep regard that his brother had for him?

Izuna warmed a little as something occurred to him. Maybe the nickname was something special for just the two of them. A way of demonstrating their value to one another. They were ‘Tobi’ and ‘Izu’ when they couldn’t be ‘Aniki’ and ‘Otouto’.

“You must be something special then.” Touka looked at him dubiously. “Since he lets you call him that.” She took a deep breath. “Fine.” Izuna’s heart lurched in tentative hope that the next words would be what he wanted to hear. “I’ll trust you, Uchiha Izuna. Tobirama clearly does. Otherwise, you’d have been dead ten times over.” Izuna did not need the reminder that just a few short months ago, they had done their level best to kill the other. It was only by pure luck and copious amounts of skill that they hadn’t managed it in the many years they’d faced off.

So that was that, then. 

One down, one to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 飯綱 (iizuna) is a type of weasel. Thus: Izuna’s moniker is the Uchiha Weasel.
> 
> This chapter was intense if I do say so myself!


	10. bickering/outsiders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touka and Hikaku get an insight into what the boys are doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”

It had been two weeks since the ‘Incursion’, as he’d taken to referring to it. Two whole gruelling weeks later, of having to fend off the worst of Touka-nee’s insistent inquiries and spending nights with eyes wide open and worries flitting through his head, innumerable as the stars. As soon as the call to arms came in, Tobirama felt the tension drain out of him. The anticipation was worse than the event itself. Or so he hoped.

As per their usual pre-engagement ritual, Tobirama sought out Izuna from across the field. His sharp red eyes scanned the swaths of Uchiha in the same way a hawk searched from the sky for its prey.

But today, Touka-nee stood to his left and Hashirama-anija as he always was, was naturally on his right. His older brother’s eyes skittishly flitted away and then back to her continuously. The clan-head-to-be kept opening his mouth like he wanted to ask her a question and wringing his hands together. Anija would fail each time and then stop for a few seconds, before doing it all over again. His older brother looked quite comical, with his mouth opening and closing rapidly. In fact, Tobirama reckoned that he looked like a gaping fish…but dressed in armour and holding an overly large sword.

Tobirama sighed despondently.

His brother was the clan heir yet he didn’t know the meaning of ‘dignified’ if his life depended on it. Although, he admitted, that was a little harsh. 

But Anija deserved it for getting excited and then causing his notes on his newest jutsu creation to revert to its former state. Meaning: that it sprouted a giant tree in the middle of his lab. It had taken days to even remove the tree since his brother insisted tearily that ‘it just wanted to be a tree again! Tobirama, how could you be so heartless to insist it get chopped down! How cruel!’ The inventor had snapped and countered with ‘Anija! You create and kill countless trees during your fights with Madara’ and that had proceeded to send his older brother into dramatic hysterics. After the so-called ‘God of Shinobi’ had removed the tree with copious complaints (how it was still alive was a mystery to curious onlookers and it would be to the countless generations afterwards who asked), Tobirama had been faced with the massive task of cleaning up and restoring his lab to how it had been pre-Hashirama. 

Fortunately, Tobirama always squirrelled away a copy of his most important notes and sealed it away in the main house for times just like these. And those notes (currently still a tree), while helpful, were now unneeded as the inventor had finally perfected his cloning jutsu after many mishaps (one of which had seared off a single eyebrow and had left his face looking unbalanced for a week). He had named the technique ‘Kage Bunshin’ and in his opinion, it was one of his crowning achievements. 

That harrowing incident had been intertwined with Touka-nee’s drama. After much needling, he had given in and explained the basics of what he and Izuna did to satiate her curiosity. Tobirama had explained patiently (and repeatedly) that they kept up appearances with their kinsmen on missions and pretended to fight seriously on the battlefield. He also spoke about their meetings sequestered away in hideaways on the edges of battles. 

Touka-nee was sceptical.

His cousin still didn’t entirely believe that he was doing it out of his own free will. Tobirama had been brainwashed or his mind had clearly been addled with in other ways and it was all Izuna’s fault. Or another Uchiha. Touka-nee didn’t discriminate in that way. It was impossible to deny that the Uchiha were masters at genjutsu and Izuna was the best of them all. Madara fought with brute strength and overwhelming, flashy attacks, but Izuna was subtle. It could be days, weeks or in one memorable case involving the hapless Senju victim hearing birdsong when there shouldn’t be any birds, it could be months later, to realise that you’ve been caught in one of his genjutsu.

Not that Izuna could actually beat him if he tried. And he used to try. Back in the day. 

(The perks of being a fantastic sensor, he supposed. The subtle fluctuation of the genjutsu caster’s chakra interacting with their victim’s chakra network was detectable if you knew what you were looking for.)

Tobirama didn’t expect any less. If he had found himself in Touka-nee’s place, he doubted that he would have acted any differently. Actually, Tobirama huffed quietly to himself, he would have been significantly more worried and paranoid.

Naturally, he denied that Izuna would do that to him - not since they’d known who the other really was (and not that he told her, always skirting around the issue). But Touka-nee could not be dissuaded. His fierce cousin had all but demanded that she accompany him the next battle and ‘supervise’. 

A small part of him felt mildly insulted. Tobirama was not an errant child (anymore) and he knew how to handle himself. But a larger part of him knew that this gesture would go a long way in securing not only Touka-nee’s trust, but also her support. 

Besides, if Tobirama knew his brother then Izuna would have told Hikaku-san much the same. 

His prediction had been accurate (as it usually was), and sure enough, Tobirama could just make out a figure standing next to Izuna. Although Hikaku tried to mask it, his features were pinched together and his foot twitched erratically every couple of minutes. A sure sign that he was nervous. Red-eyes drifted over to focus on Izuna and then narrowed in analysis. His Uchiha brother did not look much better - trying to desperately hide the signs that anything was out of the ordinary as he chatted amiably to Madara. Even though Izuna seemed as cheery as he’d ever been, there was that one particular nervous smile he was wearing. It would be heartwarming in any other circumstance, as the expression Izuna bore was one that had transcended lifetimes and was well recognised by Tobirama...

But the stakes were too high for indulging in frivolities of that kind.

His cousin leaned over and hissed something right in his ear. Her words drilled straight into the audio receptors in his brain and certainly woke him from where he was lost in his musings from the thought-provoking scene. But it was not potent enough that he caught what she said. From his cousin’s tone, however, it had clearly been a mocking insult filled with all the derision she could possibly stuff in, and then more. 

“Hmm?”

“The Uchiha Weasel and his lackey,” she snarked with a flash of her teeth, and wiggled her eyebrows. “Who else?” 

Tobirama weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of responding and declined. Touka-nee was clearly spoiling for a fight, filled with all the pent up frustration and confusion she had accumulated in the past two weeks. No amount of snide comments would be worth the fight that she would surely start. 

There was already one on the horizon.

* * *

“ATTACK!”

Tobirama and Izuna flew at each other with their faces arranged into carefully crafted sneers. They met with a clash of blades and sparks flying from the violent connection, just like they had countless times before.

Distantly, Tobirama registered that Touka-nee had engaged Izuna’s cousin with an impressive first move - Doton causing the ground to tremble and shatter underneath her opponent’s feet, thus forcing Hikaku-san to duck and scramble away before recentering himself for the next attack.

Meanwhile, Izuna seemed distracted during their fight. Where he would leap forward with chakra flooding his body and concentrated in the pathway around his eyes and a confident attitude, he still did so except his normal level of bravado had been replaced by the tightening in his chest and the way his throat swelled closed whenever he tried to speak - a deep inescapable feeling of anxiety that pervaded his entire being. 

His eyes kept flicking over to where his cousin and clansman was. Touka-nee had leapt forward then Hikaku-san had leapt back and now they were deftly trading blows and ninjutsu. Albeit it was slightly hesitant.

Old habits and beliefs die hard, but that was a good sign, Tobirama hoped. Perhaps they were more successful than he had thought and had influenced Touka-nee and Hikaku-san. Planted seeds of thought and hope.

Regardless of all of that, Tobirama mentally chided his brother’s lack of attention. If he were facing another opponent, they would surely have taken advantage of the left side Izuna was leaving open. It was just big enough to slip a sharpened kunai into him. Or go for the leg he seemed to be unconsciously favouring. 

It was dangerous to advertise your weaknesses. Especially in a fight and especially against your enemies. 

But Izuna would face no real danger against him.

A shout from behind Tobirama drew Izuna’s attention, gaze flicking there and back almost instantaneously. A shadow passed over his brother’s face as he registered the visual information a millisecond later, still trading blows with the armoured Senju. 

“Why is she here?” Hissed Izuna, carefully timing his question to be covered by a nearby clansmen’s jutsu exploding.

“Touka-nee insisted.” Tobirama replied, frowning in concentration to repel the Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu frighteningly close to his face with a Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu, equally as aware of his surroundings.

Dodge.

“Hikaku as well.”

Retaliate with Suiton. 

“We have an understanding, then.”

Shunshin.

Two pairs of red eyes met briefly in the frenzy - one natural and the other with the hypnotic swirling of tomoe - as much by chance as it was on purpose but nevertheless a silent understanding hung unspoken between them.

Looks like they had their work cut out for them today, with the presence of Touka-nee and Hikaku-san.

* * *

“Done!”

Dusting his hands off, Tobirama activated the final seal. It lit up briefly, washing his face in its light before it faded away as quickly as it came.

The chosen hideaway was another clearing on the edges of a nearby forest that bracketed the battlefield. Not for the last time did Tobirama thank God that they lived in Fire Country where clearings and other such hidey-holes were plentiful. They hadn’t had a battle yet where they couldn’t sneak away.

He turned to face Izuna, just in time to catch the red fading away at the same rate Tobirama could sense Izuna releasing the chakra buildup channelled to his eyes. 

Despite Tobirama having told Touka-nee about their standard procedures, she had nearly drawn her sword in response to the Sharingan. Tobirama had had to place a restraining hand over her own clutching the hilt of her prized naginata. 

From the corner of his eye, Tobirama had spotted Hikaku-san eyeing the two Senju while suspiciously fingering his shuriken and kunai at the sight of him setting and activating the wide array of Fuuinjutsu needed to anchor the genjutsu to their surroundings. The very instant Tobirama noticed the hostile attention directed his way, he had gone rigid but just as quickly relaxed. However the Seals Master continued on with his work. Any change in behaviour would be picked up by the hawk-sharp eyes trained on his every movement. 

Hikaku-san’s overprotectiveness and obvious regard for Izuna warmed his heart. It was always...nice to know that his brother had people that cared for him (when Tobirama couldn’t)... That his brother wasn’t alone. 

Tobirama could understand the hesitance and reluctance. All that kept Hikaku-san here and not fighting, was his trust in Izuna and the same went for Touka-nee.

Nearby, Izuna led his cousin over to an exceptionally nice spot. Deep green grass stood tall and covered a relatively wide area. It was perfect for sitting around and it wouldn’t force the participants into too small a space if they wanted a comfortable spot. 

Hikaku frowned in annoyance, presumably at Izuna’s antics. His brother was laughing uproariously and grasping onto his cousin’s shoulder for support as he wheezed and struggled for breath. 

But the voice just over Tobirama’s shoulder would have made him jump, had he not been as exceptional a sensor as he was - his guard as high as the tension that bracketed the group.

“This is what you have been doing all this while?”

Touka-nee spun in a circle as she took in the finished product. Tobirama supposed that it looked impressive for anyone not seeing it for the first time. From her perspective, the multitude of Fuuinjutsu arrays that littered the area and glowed rhythmically as the genjutsu cycled through them, would have been the furthest thing from familiar. And that was including the projects he’d been working on when she’d barged into his lab, naginata recently sharpened and looking for a sparring partner. 

Instead she had been greeted with a Tobirama deep in an inventing spree. Unholy glee lit up his red eyes as he danced around the room maniacally adding chemicals to five different beakers while scribbling notes on three different sheafs of paper - one of which had a half-finished seal with smudge marks all over it.

“Impressive.”

“Hmm. What is?”

“All of this,” Touka-nee explained patiently, waving a hand around to indicate the myriad of Fuuinjutsu scattered around in precise intervals. “You do know that this isn’t normal, right?” 

“Tch. Fuuinjutsu is a noble art. One needs the drive to innovate; have a burning and inextinguishable yearning to strive. To create what-”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You know, you don’t need to recite that Uzumaki saying every chance you get. We all _know_ that it’s crucial or whatnot, but you don’t need to repeat it a thousand times!” 

“It’s the _Foundations of Fuuinjutsu_ ,” Tobirama retorted hotly. (Touka could almost hear the weight of ancient history and the echoes of voices of countless Uzumaki seals masters reciting that phrase.) “And I will keep saying it because it’s important and _you don’t understand_ -”

“Please,” Touka-nee sighed and pinched her nose. “Spare me the lecture, _dear cousin_.”

“ _Fuuinjutsu is a highly important and versatile skill. Creating and repurposing seals is a highly respected art and that’s why I have dedicated myself to contributing to the improvement of society through the use of Fuuinjutsu_.”

“So,” his cousin winked slyly at Tobirama. “Is _‘contributing to the improvement of society’_ why you’re always holed up in your lab? You know, there are better ways to do that.” Touka-nee punctuated her statement by arching her eyebrows up in a playful tease.

(Tobirama knew where this was going. That’s what he had said just before-)

Then his cousin wrinkled her nose disdainfully. “Next thing I know, you’ll be recreating the ‘Backward Explosion’ incident again.”

Despite his usually impeccable control, Tobirama flushed as he reached his limit. There was something about Touka-nee that blasted through all his barriers with all the grace of a burgeoning shinobi performing a kata for the first time. Or Anija in an important diplomatic meeting.

Just as Tobirama opened his mouth to retort, a hand clapped his shoulder with a loud smacking sound.

Whirling around and having already taken a half-step back, Tobirama was met with Izuna’s visage. Izuna was grinning wildly but the edges of it were tainted with a touch of hysteria, and his eyes were just a bit too wide. 

Before Tobirama could even begin to put his incredible mind to good use and deduce what exactly was making his brother so antsy (although he had a sneaking suspicion that it was linked to his casual display of Fuuinjutsu prowess), Izuna tugged him away from Touka-nee. She stood there, baffled at the abrupt interruption but to Tobirama’s eternal gratitude, his cousin reigned in her impulses before a stray twitch could ruin _everything_.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hikaku’s eye kept twitching erratically in the background as he quietly goggled at the casual display of power. 

Uchiha knew better than most of the unknown dangers that lurk in every Fuuinjutsu array. And here was the greatest seals master of them all, writing them with such ease as if it were his native language - with a mind innovative enough to think of things which no other has before, and the skills necessary to bring them to bloody fruition. But most of all, a man bereft of a personal compass to shackle him to anything moral and ethical.

Seeing Senju Tobirama at work up close made him reassess his earlier misconceptions. The Demon was infinitely more dangerous than the Uchiha had previously thought.

* * *

Izuna looked around surreptitiously then leaned in and cupped a hand around his brother’s ear. “Do you know how hard it was to convince Hikaku that you weren’t some crazy monster that gets off on torturing people under the guise of experimentation? I think not! So, please can you rein it in a little?” 

Tobirama’s mouth quirked in polite scepticism, but he stayed quiet and let his brother continue. 

“...he got a little overdramatic, ok? But he’s trying, so cut him a little slack.” A ‘please was awkwardly tacked on after a long pause. 

“Understood.” Tobirama jerked his head down in a single sharp nod. 

Izuna straightened up and his attitude did a complete 180 as he instantly brightened. “Great,” he chirped. “Since you’re done, let’s play cards.”

“Ah?” Tobirama blinked. 

“Yes, cards.” Without missing a beat, Izuna pressed harder. His brother desperately wanted to move on to better things. “You did bring them, didn’t you?”

“Indeed. It is part of my battle preparations.” Tobirama paused to contemplate the sheer strangeness of the sentence. “Odd as it may sound.”

* * *

The soft _flipt-flipt-flipt_ of cards filled the air as Tobirama dealt out the next hand.

Tobirama didn’t know how his brother did it, but Izuna had actually managed to wrangle both Hikaku-san and Touka-nee into a few rounds of cards. He had used a clever combination of pouting, pestering, and pleading that bordered on outright begging. Truly, his brother had no shame. 

However, Tobirama found himself grateful this time. It was such an outlandish request (and it was only further highlighted by what must have been a comical sight of Tobirama rummaging in one of the pockets beneath his armour only to pull out a deck of cards) that really reinforced their mission of peace.

A few minutes passed, with the newcomers quickly gaining an understanding of Cheat. Otherwise known as Bluff or Bullshit amongst a myriad of other names, it was by far Tobirama’s favourite game. It showed, as Tobirama had the least cards in his hand, compared to the amount that Touka-nee and Hikaku-san had in their possession. Not to mention the frankly enormous pile that Izuna was struggling to hold as he swore profusely yet quietly - quickly shoving cards back from where they were trying to escape his precarious grip.

“This is,” Izuna fumbled as he withdrew two cards from what now looked like half the deck in his hands, “two tens.”

“Cheat.” Tobirama intoned monotonously, not even looking up to gauge the authenticity of Izuna’s poker face. 

“Damn,” said Izuna as he put his enormous pile down to reach for the pile in the middle. “How did you know?” 

“It’s obvious. I had three tens which I played. Touka-nee had one ten, then Hikaku-san called her bluff. However, she wasn’t lying and thus, all four tens were in Hikaku-san’s possession the entire time. That is, until he placed down two lots of two tens in quick succession. That means all four tens are in the pile right now. Therefore, you must be bluffing.”

“...You’re counting cards!” 

“Yes I am.” Tobirama frowned. “How else are you supposed to play?” 

“Like normal people, Tobi!”

Tobirama tilted his head in confusion. “But the entire purpose of the game is to determine which player has which card. I would be entirely remiss in my duties as a shinobi if I neglected to take note.” 

“No, that’s cheating!” Explained Izuna patiently. “You can’t use your shinobi skills during a _card game_. ”

“First of all, that is not what you said when we played poker.” Tobirama sniffed delicately. “Secondly. You’re. Just. Jealous.” He punctuated each word by leaning in close in little jerks, culminating in the distance between the two faces being within a couple of inches.

“Hn,” scoffed Izuna, cards now forgotten as he lost himself bantering with Tobirama. Reminiscent of a monkey cheekily hitting another monkey, Izuna placed a hand on his brother’s chest and none to gently shoved him away. 

(“Pfffssss”, said Tobirama as he ate dirt.)

“See?” 

The little shit ignored Tobirama  as he rolled to his knees and proceeded to hack and cough out the unpleasant clods of dirt.  He twirled a finger and collected ambient water on his fingertip, then promptly stuck the water-covered finger in his mouth and swirled it around to rid himself of any last traces.  That was absolutely uncalled for! 

“This is the reason why we banned this game! I don’t know how I was convinced to play against you, you  card shark !” Izuna threw up his hands (and his cards too, causing them to flutter down around him in a pale imitation of autumn leaves) in exasperation. “No-one can play if you're there.”

(Hikaku blinked at the unfamiliar sounds, but ultimately dismissed it as a trick of his mind against his strongest instincts that screamed otherwise. Izuna-sama had made Hikaku promise not to instigate a fight.)

Tobirama’s next less-than-polite remark was cut off by a loud snicker. Immediately, the two bickering children flushed, having forgotten that they had an audience. 

Touka-nee grinned unabashedly at the sight. If Tobirama had to take a guess, his cousin probably found his juvenile behaviour hilarious. After all, since infancy, she had been trying to get him to ‘have some fun and don’t take things so seriously, cousin’. Perhaps it had been in an attempt to spite Butsuma, but he was grateful nonetheless. The kunoichi had made it her mission to drag Tobirama out once a week for some inane activity, like eating lunch together or sitting there sipping on sake with a bemused smile as he watched her flirt with unsuspecting souls.

“Haha!” His cousin laughed freely. She looked as relaxed as she’s ever been - usually she only let her walls down this much when she was safely locked behind Senju walls. “Tobirama, you sneaky man! You should have said that you just said you played card games all day.”

Tobirama’s ‘I did’ was unheard by the person who most needed it, but it was heard by everyone who did not. 

“I was worried for nothing,” laughed the Senju kunoichi.

“Why must you doubt me?” Tobirama grumbled plaintively under his breath, but clearly not quietly enough as his cousin still picked it up.

Touka-nee sent him a mocking smile. “That’s what you said right before the exploding tag experiment.” She cupped a hand around his mouth and whispered conspiratively to the two Uchiha, “and then he was bald for a whole month!” Hikaku-san’s jaw dropped as Izuna squealed, delighted at Tobirama’s misfortune. 

(“Please stop embarrassing me, Touka-nee,” mumbled Tobirama into the palm where it was resting on his face. This was the worst case scenario.)

“He spent most of his days indoors after that. But unfortunately for him, there was a lot of mission-demand that month and so, he had to use a henge whenever he went out of the Senju compound! Even better, Hashirama made him this ugly and misshapen white hat that was supposed to look like his real hair. But it actually just made him look like a really ugly mushroom. Then Hashirama _forced him to wear it whenever they were together._ Tobirama even tried everything from burning the monstrosity, to burying it in an unmarked grave in the middle of Senju territory, but it would always be on his pillow the next day!” 

“You never told me about that,” said Izuna as a slow grin creeped up his face. Some things never changed, despite the dissimilar appearances to one another that Tobirama and Izuna both sported, and despite the years-long separation on both ends. Siblings naturally delighted in having blackmail. “Tell me more.” He demanded, eyes shining in unadulterated glee.

Peeking through the gaps in his fingers, Tobirama watched as Hikaku-san seemed to get less tense the longer Touka-nee kept sharing his greatest and most humiliating failures. Well, at least the replay of his embarrassments were good for something. It was one of the most simplest combative techniques - prove that your enemy is just as human as you are. That the enemy too, has individual quirks and lives vibrant and colourful lives as anyone else. And Touka-nee was doing it without ulterior motives. That made it all the more impactful. 

However, it was her next few words that drew the attention of the other three shinobi. 

“You know what?” The gravity of Touka’s words despite the levity of the words themselves made her audience sit straighter. Abrupt changes tended to do that. She tossed her head back in a bark of laughter. “Makes you wonder what can happen if this hare-brained scheme of yours works.” As she said this, Touka gestured to the card-game and the Fuuinjutsu gently pulsing with chakra sprinkled around seemingly haphazardly. “Just look! Uchiha and Senju spending any duration of time together without any sort of fighting - not only that, but even playing a game together!”

“Huh.” Izuna sat back with a wide-eyed look of comprehension. Tobirama was sure that he matched his brother, rapidly blinking as he fully absorbed what the kunoichi was saying. 

Senju and Uchiha were sitting together civilly and playing games - Tobirama could almost hear the click of history falling into place. Records might not reflect it and books may omit it, but this is where peace started. He could feel it as surely as he could feel the heart thudding loudly in his chest in the rhythm of hope.

* * *

After a few minutes where all four shinobi sat there with matching poleaxed expressions, Hikaku-san quietly picked up his cards again which spurred the others to mirror him. It was another few minutes of silent gameplay, only broken by soft chiming of calls like ‘three aces’, ‘one jack’ and ‘cheat’.

The tense atmosphere was broken as Hikaku-san gave a quick laugh. To Tobirama’s incredulity (and concern), the Uchiha shook his head a couple of times before saying, “I never would have thought that coming to your,” and he addressed his cousin here, “aid that last battle would have led me to be playing cards with Senju instead of fighting.

Touka-new scoffed beside him, offended at her lack of mention. She was a proud and strong kunoichi, renowned in her own right and she deserved to be mentioned alongside her highly accomplished cousin. 

(She would make anyone who dared leave her out, well-acquainted with the pointy end of her naginata. Except for Uchiha Hikaku. She’d make a one-time exception for him and let it slide, since it seemed that her beloved cousin was in dire need of the Uchiha’s help, but if he did it again… She wasn’t responsible for her actions.)

“Uchiha and Senju playing a game together…” Hikaku-san continued, paraphrasing the Senju kunoichi’s earlier exclamation of disbelief, “It’s unbelievable, no matter how much you think about it!’’

“Hey…Wait a minute!” Izuna said with the slow dawning realisation of a person who should really have addressed the issue much earlier. He turned to the other Uchiha and asked, “What did you mean by ‘coming to your aid that last battle’? I wasn’t in any danger!”

Tobirama merely sighed and looked skyward - he seemed to be doing a lot of this recently - and did his best to deny that he hadn’t thought of it himself. In his defence, he had been so overwhelmed trying to balance his everyday duties on top of dealing with Anija (a full time occupation by itself) and the extra stresses caused by the disastrous ‘Incident’ (which upon reflection, could have been worse). Tobirama should have known better than this. Tobirama should have _been_ better than this.

But luckily, even unknowingly, Izuna had saved him from potential embarrassment. 

“And I can very well take care of myself.” Izuna hurriedly tacked on. 

Nobody was convinced, least of which was Tobirama. He knew his brother and distinctly remembered Izuna hysterically leaping into his arms and screeching when a huge and hairy spider dropped down from a low hanging tree branch a few meetings ago. So, Tobirama merely sat there silently with a deadpan expression and did his best not to laugh in Izuna’s face. 

How should Tobirama put it? Izuna may not want to admit it, but he was...delicate in that way. 

Turning his thoughts away to the issue at hand, Tobirama tried not to look interested at Hikaku-san’s response, in spite of the itching curiosity burning through his veins. He’d like to reiterate for the record that he hated unsolved mysteries, especially the sort that go undetected for so long.

Hikaku-san, sensing that the focus had completely shifted away from the game and onto him, put his cards down to better focus. He naturally upside down so that his opponent’s didn’t catch a glimpse as he collected himself. The Uchiha replied more hesitant now, “It looked like you were going to be run through by the Whi-” and at Izuna and Touka-nee’s twin fierce glares, Hikaku-san hurriedly corrected himself. “Senju Tobirama-”

Touka-nee interjected, “I saw my cousin about to be blasted to dust by a gigantic and inescapable katon. I couldn’t let that happen. You can see why we were worried.” She casually tossed a hand to the side, but the kunoichi’s eyes stared daggers into her cousin. The glare was so potent he could almost feel the thousands of tiny pinpricks on his skin. Tobirama would wager against a month of lab privileges that his cousin was mentally marking down a time and date for her retribution - as if she was noting down just another calendar entry. 

He shivered.

(Tobirama was inordinately proud of the fact that there seemed to be a ‘we’, but it was overshadowed in favour of the harsh scolding he was receiving.)

“Uh, yes. What she said,” confirmed Hikaku-san, a bit bewildered that his explanation had been asked, yet was unneeded. 

“Wha- Tobi!” Izuna spluttered then whirled to meet startled red eyes. For a moment, the two brothers could only stare at each other speechless in their incredulity, until Izuna blinked. That seemed to have been all the mental reset the Uchiha needed, because he started to lay the blame on Tobirama. 

It was because of the burning cold sense of shock that lingered for longer, otherwise Izuna would have been stopped by now. As it was, Tobirama didn’t let it go on for more than half a minute before interrupting the Uchiha’s tirade. 

“Don’t blame me. Touka-nee said what she saw.” The red eyes now narrowed into a piercingly irate glare, causing Izuna to flinch back with a slight frown. 

“What did you show them?”

Izuna immediately looked shifty and his eyes darted everywhere except at Tobirama as he stammered, looking for a good answer but coming up empty.

“What genjutsu _exactly_ did you cast?” Tobirama pressed, dangerously quiet. 

“Hn. Yes.” Izuna scratched the back of his neck and his cheeks reddened. “I wanted to see how complex of a genjutsu I could cast, so I uhh,” he trailed off and cleared his throat. “Right. I made it so it looked super cool-” Glare. “Like we were ferociously fighting and that our fights were at a high enough level of intensity to discourage onlookers from interfering. But it was still things we could actually do in real life. I would never play around with that!” Izuna rushed to reassure his brother. But as if he sensed Tobirama’s rising ire, Izuna said, “Getting on with it, I may have- For dramatic purposes-” and he visibly hesitated before a string of unintelligible words spoken so fast that the syllables were indistinguishable from one another. 

At the scalding look on Tobirama’s face, Izuna repeated it at a slower rate, mumbling all the while, “I may have made it seem as if we were about to land fatal blows on one another.”

Then he had the audacity to smile sheepishly at Tobirama, as if by saying this, everything was fine and everyone could forget about it. 

As Izuna stumbled through his paltry explanation, Tobirama became aware of a dull throbbing in his head that pulsed in time with his racing heartbeat. Reaching two fingers up on either side of his head in a futile attempt to rub the pain increasing in sharp spikes, away, the Senju’s red eyes pressed tightly shut before flying open. 

Tobirama exploded.

“I told you to keep it low profile! To be the opposite of conspicuous! Don’t interrupt me. How long has this been going on?” Demanded Tobirama before he threw an open palm out in front of him. “No, don’t tell me. I’m not sure I want to know.” The white-hair Senju huffed as he crossed his arms looking at the Uchiha pouting petulantly. 

“We were lucky that it was Touka-nee and Hikaku-san. Imagine if it were our _fathers_.” 

It was a bit of a low blow. Even Tobirama - a battle-hardened shinobi with a dark and deadly reputation who had seen horrors that ordinary folk would not - shied away at the imaginary scene of Butsuma barging in. The Senju was sure that it was the same for Izuna if the Senju scouts’ reports had been even half accurate. It could have so easily been the death for their dreams (and perhaps even themselves-traitors were not looked upon kindly).

The Uchiha whitened so quickly that it took Tobirama off-guard. If Izuna had been standing, his knees would have buckled, but as it was, he lolled to the side before jerking straight, still staring and frozen in alarm. 

“Exactly,” continued Tobirama, satisfied that his brother now knew how badly it might have ended had the fates not smiled on them. He knew Izuna was smart, but sometimes _the consequences just slipped his mind_. 

“Yeah, well, you’re the greatest sensor in all of Fire Country. How did you not sense them?” Izuna shakily retaliated after his face had gained back most of the colour. This time it was Tobirama’s turn to blush. Or it would have been, had he not have been as familiar with how to respond to his brother’s eloquent verbal sparring. 

Tobirama's eyes slid down, taking in the Uchiha standing before him with maximum sarcasm, only to jerk back up to the now splotchy, red and infuriated face. “I was distracted by your sheer stupidity. It’s highly contagious and I was trying to find a cure, because it must be torture to have to live with _that_ forever.” Snarked Tobirama. 

Then it's like nothing’s changed and they’re sniping and shoving at each other as if they had never stopped.

* * *

“Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“You go ahead. I’ll just watch from here.” 

“...”

“Really? Do we have to?...Fine. You don’t need to look at me like that.”

Tobirama felt hands around his midriff, hauling him away from Izuna only seconds before he could tackle the impertinent Uchiha and slam him into the ground. He’d make Izuna eat dirt and see how he liked it. Across from him, Hikaku-san did the same with Izuna and back-pedalled away from the snarling Senju held back by his cousin. Touka-nee tugged him away half-heartedly.

When it looked like the two shinobi were going to break out of their cousins’ hold and jump at each other once again, Touka-nee got a glance from Hikaku-san. In sync, they shoved the pair away and then propped her hands on her hips and started lecturing Tobirama and Izuna about being too childish and not taking the situation they were in seriously. Touka-nee and Hikaku-san were too good. There had been no chance to slip away and once Touka-nee started talking...well, you’d have to be suicidal to try and escape.

Izuna hung his head in shame, but Tobirama recognised that particular playful sparkle in her eye and knew that she wasn’t truly angry. Too bad for the Uchiha that clearly don’t know that about the Senju kunoichi. 

Then she sneered challengingly over the two misbehaving shinobi, “How are you going to fix it?”

Tobirama closed his eyes as his mind flashed back to before the battle and he blew out a breath as the proverbial lightbulb lit up. It was irresponsible, no doubt about it and it required that he place a lot of trust in them. And considering the Uchiha were technically his enemy, but...Izuna vouched for Hikaku-san so that was enough for him. 

“Actually,” he started hesitantly and all three pairs of eyes flew to him. He cleared his throat, “I just perfected my new jutsu before this battle. I believe that it is a possible solution to our predicament as evidently, our previous strategy was not effective. By using this jutsu, it will make our ‘fight’ more realistic and believable to anyone who might happen to look.” He paused, and took a moment to consider how best to present his case. 

“And?” Izuna punched him in the arm and his fist connected with a loud _twack_ , “Don’t leave us in suspense!” Tobirama glared hard at his brother, and rubbed the spot. 

“It is a jutsu that allows one to create upwards of one solid clone. The chakra is distributed evenly amongst them and the clone, or clones, can use any jutsu that their caster knows. Upon dispersal, the memories are transferred to the caster. It doesn’t require a high level of chakra control, however it does require a large chakra reserve and stamina to perform. But by far the biggest weakness is that one good hit is enough to disperse the clone.”

The three listeners sat there in stunned silence before Hikaku-san tentatively shuffled up to the white-haired shinobi. 

“Uh,” Hikaku-san hesitantly extended a hand to Tobirama’s shoulder and when the Senju made no move to resist, the Uchiha tentatively clasped it. “I’m glad you’re on our side now.” 

“Hmm?” The Senju blinked, startled out of his thoughts. “Oh yes. Me too.” 

Unheard of by anyone else, the kunoichi’s lips curled up in a rueful smile as she lamented, “That is just like Tobirama.” The smile turned indulgent. She was well practised at encountering her cousin’s odd and often fanciful leaps in ‘logic’. It was still amazing to her that her cousin could even come up with these ideas, much less make them a reality. “That wasn’t exactly what I meant by ‘fix it’, but that will do.”

* * *

Not even two minutes later, Tobirama had started in on animatedly explaining how to create a Kage Bunshin. 

Unlike back with the Senju, Izuna and Hikaku-san were genuinely interested. They were completely still and looked on with wide, dark eyes as they soaked in all he was telling them. With minimal interruptions from a certain someone, of course. Hikaku-san was much too polite and well-mannered...and probably thought it awkward to joke with Tobirama so early in their acquaintance. 

(“So, what you’re telling me is that you are so much of a perfectionist that you would rather clone yourself to micromanage the shit out of everything than delegate? Wow, you really took the ‘I’ll just have to do everything by myself’ sentiment to new heights.”

“Ye- Hey!”

“Hn. As if one of you weren’t bad enough!”)

Despite Izuna's good-natured teasing, Tobirama was still grateful for the enthusiasm. 

It had been like that at the start with his clan, but their interest quickly waned as they had quickly gotten used to him churning out new and innovative jutsu on the regular. That, and Tobirama had always been an outsider in his own home - too strange looking with his too pale skin, Hatake-white hair and his Uchiha-red eyes - nothing like the typical looks of the Senju with their tanned skin and dark hair and eyes. He had been too smart and mature for his age and questioned everything incessantly. And those questions hadn’t been ‘What’s that called?’ while pointing at a painting, but rather ‘Why don’t we increase the number of shinobi in patrols around the eastern border and have shift changes at the border so it will never be left unsupervised?’ and suggestions like ‘We should do a complete overhaul of the filing system and introduce a system to tag reports with key words to make for easy retrieval.’ 

He had indeed been an odd child.

They were subjects that toddlers shouldn’t be asking, much less knowing about. People, and shinobi in particular, had always been suspicious of things that didn’t conform and Tobirama was very much included in their paranoia.

It had only his brothers (and then just Hashirama-anija), and later Touka-nee, that had willingly spent time with him and cared for him beyond what was afforded for their shared Senju blood.

But he digressed. 

The Senju inventor hadn’t received this much interest in any of his projects in a long time and was eagerly reciprocating with equal amounts of excitement. He brought his hands up to demonstrate the hand signs needed to produce a Kage Bunshin. It was wonderfully simple and only required the Ram sign. But just as he started moving his hands into position, he froze in confusion at what he spotted. 

Disappointment briefly flashed over Hikaku-san’s face before it smoothened out. The Uchiha averted his head, closed his eyes and turned until he was facing away from the red-eyed shinobi. 

Tobirama’s eyebrows drew together as he frowned. The Uchiha had seemed so interested in his jutsu, so it couldn’t be that he found Tobirama’s work a perversion of nature like his clansmen often did. The other shinobi had already suffered through the long and rambling explanation, so to bow out now… It just didn’t make sense. His current actions didn’t match the sentiment he’d display up until now. It was as if-

“Hikaku,” Izuna beat him to it, the final syllable ticking up in a question. “What are you doing? Don’t you want to learn Tobirama’s new jutsu?” 

As he watched the other Uchiha squirm under Izuna’s relentless prodding and dodged his questions trying to find a way to refuse in a way that wouldn’t offend its creator, Tobirama inhaled sharply. 

The Senju inventor knew what the problem was. 

It was so simple, but since he had already considered the issue and discarded it, he had disregarded the notion that Hikaku-san might also think of it but come to a different conclusion. Hikaku-san had probably realised that Tobirama might not want him to be able to perform it on account of his clan affiliations. They also didn’t have the same relationship that Tobirama and Izuna did - with all the unspoken history and unshakeable trust between them. 

And unlike in open battle against enemies, it was an unofficial rule between shinobi to not copy another’s jutsu without permission. In the same way if someone plagiarised artwork or tried to pass another’s work off as their own, it was incredibly rude to steal something that a person had spent countless hours pouring their heart and soul into creating.

Tobirama reached out and placed a hand on Izuna’s shoulder. Izuna quietened straight away, and tilted his head quizzically to look at his brother with a silent question in his eyes. Red eyes met coal-black ones and Izuna nodded. He walked past his brother and took a couple of steps forward until he was behind the other Uchiha. 

The white-haired man cleared his throat and Hikaku-san turned warily back around until he was looking Tobirama in the eyes. The Senju met them head-on and it was a wordless stare-off until Hikaku-san acquiesced a few heartbeats later, eyes flitting over Tobirama’s shoulder in the direction of Izuna before flicking back. 

It was still a few more seconds until Tobirama opened his mouth to speak. When he did, it was decisive and the words came out clear so it couldn’t be misinterpreted. 

“I, Senju Tobirama, give you permission to learn and use the Kage Bunshin on the caveat that it not be used against the Senju or the Senju’s allies.” Tobirama spoke a modified and shortened version of the formal permission used between allies when sharing new techniques. It was usually very lengthy, took up entire scrolls, and read much like a contract, with the agreement written in full and signed by participants. But no-one had time for that and besides, he could trust Izuna to keep his cousin in check in the event that both Tobirama and Izuna had grossly misjudged the man (which was infinitesimally small). 

Hikaku-san actually gasped out loud and reeled back as if he had been slapped and soon Tobirama found himself raising his hands into the Ram sign once more. 

And once more he found himself pausing. Although two pairs of eyes were watching him intently, only one pair of Sharingan were active. Hikaku-san’s eyes remained dark. 

“Using the Sharingan would be faster.” He nonchalantly stated. 

“Sorry?”

“The Sharingan can copy and recreate anything it sees with at least near-perfect accuracy, so why aren’t you using it?”

“You would let me?!” Hikaku-san exclaimed in stunned disbelief. “I know that you’re close with my cousin, but me too?” He pointed a finger at himself as if saying ‘did you mean me?’ “Aren’t you afraid that I’m going to trap you in a genjutsu?”

A white eyebrow lifted sardonically. 

“Are you saying that you believe you can actually trap me in a genjutsu?” 

Tobirama didn’t think it was possible for the man to be more stunned but that was how Hikaku-san looked. 

“Regardless,” the Senju tipped his head forward slightly. “Izuna vouched for you to be trusted with something much bigger than a simple Bunshin no jutsu.” 

That elicited a high-pitched giggle. “Just ‘a simple Bunshin no jutsu’?! This would completely change inter-clan espionage and warfare, but sure, it’s a simple clone that’s solid and has all the abilities of the shinobi who cast it!” 

The Senju shinobi shrugged and let the Uchiha giggle hysterically uninterrupted. 

“Right,” Hikaku-san gave another brief chuckle once he recovered. “Continue on then, please.” 

“Wait for me,” Touka-nee drawled as pushed off the wall she had been leaning on for the past hour or so, and casually strolled over. She had quietly watched the chaos in unadulterated schadenfreude. “Now that you’ve skipped the boring science-y explanation and you’re done with all the drama, I can join again.” 

A while later found three shinobi practising the new jutsu as the fourth one corrected the others’ mistakes.

* * *

Hikaku was thrilled.

Once he had gotten over his natural fearfulness at spending extended periods of time with Senju, he had let himself be welcomed into this chaotic mess with open arms.

He was curious about the Senju that had captured his cousin’s interest. One thing led to another and now he was being taught by undisputedly the best Fuuinjutsu master this side of the ocean at least! Hikaku still couldn’t believe how lucky he was. 

It was undeniable that it was the White Demon’s Fuuinjutsu ability that set him apart from others in his clan and that was what made him so deadly. A real master of the art and now he got the rare chance to learn one of his unique jutsu under his direct tutelage! 

How many other non-Senju could boast that they had gotten this special privilege? 

Usually, learning one his techniques was incredibly hard to do - especially on the battlefield. The man was reportedly very secretive and often skipped hand seals to make it just that much harder to poach his techniques. Not to mention that his creations often had high chakra requirements which further limited opportunities of seeing them in a fight. 

The Uchiha was almost disappointed that this jutsu was wonderfully simple in comparison to, say, the intimidating water dragon of his.

When he later asked the Senju kunoichi about her cousin’s choice to let him learn Kage Bunshin as well, she only said that it was his jutsu and he could do whatever he liked with it. 

“Besides,” she elbowed him playfully and laughed when he glanced at her petulantly. “It was probably his way of seeing if he could trust you. It’s exactly the sort of high-stakes test that he gets a kick out of.” 

Well. That was enlightening and _explained so much_.

* * *

In the future, Hikaku would proudly retell the long story of how peace came to be between the Senju and the Uchiha. Sitting in front of a bunch of wide-eyed and captivated children, he would never fail to mention with a nostalgic smile that this was the moment that he truly trusted Senju Tobirama unreservedly. 

It was all possible because one Senju and one Uchiha took the plunge and trusted each other first.

* * *

Before long, their fun was damped as the call to retreat reached their ears. 

As they left, Tobirama heard Touka-nee softly say something to herself. Unconsciously, he directed chakra to his ears, just in time to catch the tail end. 

“Hah,” she scoffed. “Never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad that Tobirama found that Uchiha. Anyone could tell that they’re good friends but it's more than that. That Uchiha Izuna is good for him.”

The shinobi mentioned snuck a quick peek over at his cousin, and caught a glimpse of a tiny but heartfelt smile. 

Embarrassing incidents aside, perhaps today hadn’t been so bad, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being patient with the later than usual update. My computer got a virus and I couldn’t access the file where my fanfic was saved…  
> (Just glad I didn’t lose it!)
> 
> So I made this chapter longer than usual to make up for it.


	11. reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madara’s unhinged and Tobirama is so done.  
> In other words, ‘The big reveal: Tobirama and Izuna tell their brothers what they’ve been up to lately.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”
> 
> **Content Warning: brief mention of Tajima beating Izuna. ******

Madara’s brother had always been charismatic.

It was something that Madara, with his supremely awkward social skills and automatic default to being a blustery, flailing mess, was secretly jealous of. The ease at which Izuna drew people to him...it would never fail to impress him.

Seriously, it didn’t matter what he was doing but people flocked to him! They swarmed him like ducks at a pond when confronted with crumbs of old bread, quacking for attention. 

Madara had spotted him working his natural charm while walking by: at the bustling izakaya downing sake and karaage, in the tranquil gardens discussing the benefits of fertiliser, and even in the old rickety storeroom when he was grabbing the emergency whetstone. It didn’t matter where he was, and yet there would always be someone he was chatting with! From children, to fellow shinobi, and to the wizened and crotchety elders, he’d always have a smile on his face or a joke on his lips and people would always walk away happier than they had been before speaking to his younger brother. No-one was spared from Izuna’s natural magnetism.

(If Madara believed in magic, that’s what he would say it was. But Madara didn’t believe in magic. He didn’t. Only children believe in magic. How dare anyone ever accuse him of that?!)

Things were different, nowadays. Izuna’s interactions with others had shifted significantly from a casually striking up conversation with whoever was closest to fill the silence, to the second heir of the Uchiha deliberately singling their clansmen out like a man on a mission. The conversation partner, more often than not, tended to walk away with furrowed brows and a contemplative look on their face. Izuna would follow after a few minutes had passed (as if he was allaying suspicion should anyone look his way) with a barely noticeable spring in his step and a triumphant grin.

What could cause such a drastic change?

None of the other Uchiha had picked up on it - still greeting him with a loud laugh and a clap on the shoulder - and it was only because Madara had known him all his life, that he even noticed at all. Madara had picked through the memories of the last few months in detail in his search - once again grateful for the Sharingan - but came up empty handed. 

The mystery continued. 

Having strange clandestine meetings with individual kinsmen didn’t comprise all he’d been doing differently. In fact, there were a host of other changes that had altered his routine. 

Long after the rest of the clan had gone to bed (except for that night’s patrols dutifully prowling the night), Madara had woken up one night parched. Bleary-eyed and shivering in the biting snap of the night’s chill and like any other sane person, he crept on shinobi-silent feet to grab some water. It was only as he turned the corner that he noticed a faint, flickering light from one of empty studies that Izuna had commandeered. Awake and alert all of a sudden, Madara palmed a kunai and drew closer. As he did so, his ears picked up frustrated mutterings in the otherwise soundless night. 

He whirled around to confront what all signs pointed to as being a thief or worse, an assassin sent under the cover of dark with a member of the Uchiha main family as their target. His mistake had been assuming that Izuna had also gone to bed. Instead, Madara had nearly had the shock of his life the first time he came face to face with the ‘culprit’. 

He had turned around only to see his baby brother sitting in front of scattered papers with foreign symbols written on it. Izuna held a brush that dripped ink slowly as he tugged his hair in frustration. Madara stood in the entryway for several minutes and observed, lowering his weapon and tucking it absentmindedly away.

Izuna would murmur strange sounds, scribble something down and repeat the action. Occasionally, he’d grunt in annoyance and angrily erase a section of the alien script by soaking the area in ink. 

Any other time, Madara would have scolded Izuna for wasting the ink. It wasn’t cheap, after all! However, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from what lay before him.

Just as Madara’s mind had finished processing the scene before him, Izuna leaned back and yawned while scrubbing at his eyes. In that motion, Izuna jolted as he spotted the figure in the doorway.

“Oh! Nii-san, how long have you been standing here for?” A strange gleam entered his younger brother’s eyes and Madara’s chest tightened uncomfortably.

Izuna cleared his throat and asked, “Did you happen to see anything?”

Red flag. 

“I didn’t. Why, was it anything important?” Madara replied as nonchalantly as he could.

“Nothing to worry about.” Izuna gave him a relieved smile and stood up. The rows of foreign symbols disappeared gradually as Izuna collected the papers together and piled them neatly in his arms. “What are you doing up so late?” 

That had been the end of it. 

Once Madara had noticed, he couldn’t unnotice it. The household assistants would leave at the same time Otou-sama went to bed. Shortly after, Izuna would slink off to his room leaving Madara the last one up. But a couple of hours later, his younger brother would sneak out and soon the sounds of muttering and a brush on paper could be heard from that room. 

Madara didn’t think Otou-sama knew about this, and there was no reason to inform their father of these late night actions. 

He knew that Izuna nursed a burning hatred the size of Fire Country for their father, seemingly since birth. The now-oldest of the Uchiha siblings hadn’t forgotten the screaming matches and harsh beatings that Izuna would receive from Otou-sama for the disrespect he showed him. Those beatings had sent his brother to his room, with a split lip, a bloodied face and a nasty grin.

After a while, Izuna started to avoid their father with extreme prejudice and Madara had breathed a sigh of relief. He had desperately wanted to speak up and plead for leniency, but held his tongue for fear that he’d get punished too. Otou-sama hated weakness.

Madara didn’t want to relive those days and he knew for certain that Izuna would rather have all his tenketsu blocked off permanently than relive it either. 

And that brought him to today. 

Sweaty, grimy, a bit bloody but  _ alive _ , Madara tipped his head back and let the sun’s warm rays fall on his closed eyes and let the crushing fear and pumping adrenaline slough off like wet sand. He halted for just a moment to inhale deeply, registering the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the Uchiha compound lying before him. He let the noise wash over him - the chatter of the civilians safely living their life their warriors died for, the distant ringing of hammers on anvil from the blacksmiths who supply the weapons that keep their kinsmen alive, and the rickety moans from carts the merchants use to shuttle their goods, amongst a hundred other things that made it  _ home _ . 

Home. He was home. 

This was a private ritual of Madara’s - after a battle, when the looming gates first come into sight, he takes a brief moment to simply recenter himself. 

Once the fighting had concluded and (if lucky) the Uchiha had patched up their wounded as best they could, as one the Uchiha left for home. Not a single one of their numbers ever took that for granted and seeing the broken and mangled frames of their friends and families they had been forced to leave behind, only drove that feeling home. Gratefulness that he and his loved ones had made it this far, warred against the shame and disgust for feeling that - for the opportunity to spend another day with Madara’s precious people when others didn’t. The Uchiha heir shifted uncomfortably. That feeling had become an unwanted and repeating visitor. 

Before he knew it, the great gates swung open with that familiar creak. The gathered shinobi tore away as they passed through. Healers rushed forward to take the wounded away, spouses and children greeted shinobi and headed off to their homes, while others fell to their knees in loud, wailing cries for the loved ones who never made it home.

The clan heir’s face twisted in sympathetic pity as he tore his gaze away from the horrible scene.

Although Madara had hurried to Izuna’s side immediately after the battle and ascertained that his brother was alright - surprisingly, Izuna had managed his second-battle in a row without any injuries and came away with only scuff marks - Madara’s eyes drifted towards Izuna without conscious thought.

Come to think of it, Madara mused distractedly, he didn’t really know what Izuna did on the battlefield.  ~~ His friend ~~ Hashirama had steadily improved over the years until the tree had become ridiculously strong. It took everything Madara had in him, to parry and deflect the Senju’s stupid flora. He couldn’t even spare an iota of concentration to use his mediocre sensing on Izuna. 

Izuna would be mad if his brother told him, but what he didn’t know won’t hurt him...not that Madara can do it anymore. 

After scanning the rapidly dispersing crowd, Madara’s eyes found his brother. Izuna was standing off to the side with his head bowed in furious whispering with their cousin, Hikaku. Somewhat annoyingly, the pair faced away at just the right angle to deny Madara the chance to read their lips. 

He observed for several more minutes as his brother waved his arms around in the controlled yet undignified manner that Otou-sama had given up on breaking Izuna out of. Then Hikaku cupped a hand around Izuna’s ear, while Izuna’s mouth flapped open and closed as he gaped like the koi in the pond that Madara made sure he was frequently and intimately acquainted with. Leaning back, Izuna said one final thing before nodding solemnly and Hikaku bowed respectfully before leaving. Their cousin melded seamlessly into the gathered Uchiha - one black haired, lithe shinobi amongst a sea of others. His brother watched him go with an unreadable look before he wheeled around, grinning boyishly on his heels. Izuna’s gaze drifted until he spotted, “Nii-san!”

Madara took that as his cue to walk over.

Once within talking range, Izuna didn’t hesitate in slinging an arm around his older brother’s shoulder and hanging off him like week-old limp vegetables that had sat in the sun. At the same time, Izuna talked his ear off about anything and everything with special emphasis on the latest gossip. 

Madara listened in silence as they trudged along the paved path to their home and tried to think of a way to voice his thoughts. Luckily, Izuna beat him to it. 

With no warning whatsoever, he whirled around to face Madara with a somber look on his face - a complete opposite to his previous upbeat demeanour. Then Izuna said gravely, “Nii-san, you’re not as sneaky as you think you are. I know I’ve been acting strange and I know that you’ve noticed. I’ll come to your room after dark and explain everything.”

Then Izuna grinned - once again cheerful - and chirped, “But right now I’ve got a date with a lovely warm bath. See you later, stinky!”

The confused man didn’t even get a chance to answer before Izuna scampered off in the direction of the baths, leaving Madara with more questions than he had before. 

What in the world?

* * *

The moon was high and the stars twinkled merrily in the sky. 

The hour was late and the compound was dark and silent. Everyone else had retired for their bed hours ago. Only nutters were still awake at this time of night! Or, Madara squinted out of the window, perhaps it was the early morning. 

Madara pulled at his collar as paced the length of his room, the flooring hard beneath his toes. Up and down and back again and round and round he went. He groaned and pulled roughly at his eternally untameable hair.

He was just about to give up and head to bed, when his ears picked up a faint knock. The worried brother strode over, yanked the door open without checking, and pulled the person into the room in one swift motion. Then he turned to face them.

Izuna blinked back. 

“Hey, Nii-san.”

“Don’t you ‘hey, Nii-san’ me!” Madara exploded in hushed whispers, trying to keep the volume low in respect for the late hour. “Don’t you know what time it is?”

“It’s time for me to tell you what you’ve been waiting for!” His insolent little brother (more like little bother) chirped cheerily, ignoring the angry glare boring holes into the side of his head. 

Madara tapped his foot impatiently and made sure his face reflected his feelings. 

Too used to his antics, Izuna rolled his eyes and walked over to Madara’s futon and plopped down right on his pillow. That would not do. At all. 

Madara put one hand on his brother’s shoulder and pushed, while in the same motion he yanked the pillow (his  _ head _ goes there!) from under his brother and absentmindedly smacked him with it. Izuna gave a reflexive squawk like a particularly affronted chicken and toppled to the side. The younger man righted himself indignantly then patted the spot next to him anyway.

As Madara sat down, Izuna immediately shoved himself right up against the taller of the two and lay a head on his shoulder. He snuggled into Madara’s side and physically manhandled his older brother’s arms into a comfortable position. The older man just let him, and at last when Izuna had finished - his arms now encircling the bundle of brother practically half in his lap - Madara gave him a brief squeeze.

He basked in the feeling of his brother - warm and  _ alive _ \- pressed to his side. It was a reminder of better times when their family had numbered more than three, and there was never a silent and sullen moment in the house. Those times had once been plentiful, but now with the increased attacks on their border and the ramped up skirmishes with the Senju, free time had become a priceless commodity. 

But sadly, there were more important things to do than enjoy cuddling. 

“What did you want to speak to me about?” Madara angled his head down at just the right angle to get a clear look at the passing expressions that flitted over his brother’s face.

“I- ah. Hmm.” Izuna spoke up, shifty-eyed as he licked his lips nervously. Sensing that his little brother wasn’t going to crack easily, Madara pushed. 

“So?” Madara demanded and would have crossed his arms like a disapproving parent had they been free. But his tone of voice said what he wanted to convey regardless as he said hotly, “You can’t just call me here to talk and then not tell me.” 

His brother bit his lip and looked off to the side where Madara wasn’t, with a carefully blank expression. That’s alright, Madara could be patient and wait. His brother was cracking.

“I’m just trying to find the right words. But there’s no way to do that, so I’ll just go straight into it.” 

Izuna took a fortifying breath.

“Look, Nii-san. I’m going to be frank with you: I know you still want peace with the Senju.” Izuna had started strong, then as he went he hunched his shoulders as if dreading Madara’s reaction. 

(It made him feel like the lowest of the low - worse than any kind of scum - to have his brother look at him this way.)

Madara’s heart stuttered and skipped a beat. Hold on, did his brother just say-

“Peace with the Senju!” His voice went embarrassingly high and belatedly, he realised he hadn’t been able to reach that pitch since he had been fourteen. 

“Wha- but, how?” Madara finally managed to get his mouth in working order enough to stutter out that unintelligible facsimile of communication. Wait, that was admittance! Uh, what to do, what to do...

When pressed, lie and deny.

“No, wait. I don’t! Of course not! What kind of slander- Who told you that?!” The older Uchiha whirled to face his brother and in the process inadvertently shook Izuna’s head off his shoulder.

Yep, totally nailed it.

He gave his brother an apologetic look for the unintended action, but refused to feel remorse over his convincing denial. Izuna glared at him but thankfully (for his nerves), continued.

“Nii-san, you’re not subtle in the least.  _ I’ve known you all my life _ .” Then Madara swore Izuna muttered something that sounded like  _ this life, at least _ . 

Madara was just about to ask his brother to clarify that ambiguous statement, as his mind raced to consider the various implications for several long seconds.

Then it hit him like a lightning strike through the heart. Obviously, his brother meant ‘the life of a shinobi’. But as the searing shock travelled through every inch of his body, he was filled with worry. 

Was his brother unhappy with being a warrior? Being a protector was one that all Uchiha sought to become - that was what Otou-sama had preached, and as the Uchiha clan head, he can’t have been wrong. But Izuna’s happiness was more important. If there was anything that Madara could do...

“Do you not like being a shinobi?” Madara asked gently. “If you don’t want to be one, we can find something else for you to do. Obviously I’ll support you in this. Actually, you could be a blacksmith! I think that Yuuji-oji was looking for a new apprentice after his old one quit…” He stroked his chin, now thinking about all the potential career paths that Izuna could take. 

“What? Why would you even ask me-,” Izuna exclaimed then shook his head. “I don’t even know how you came to that conclusion. Anyway, that’s not the point. No, what I’m trying to say is: I know you still want peace with the Senju.” 

Madara looked away guiltily.

“Nii-san, I’ve seen you fight against Senju Hashirama. That Senju is good, I can’t deny, but there’s been plenty of openings you haven’t taken. Not to mention the peace offers that keep getting shouted at you by that Senju, nevermind that he isn’t actually the clan head yet. I can see you hesitate just the slightest bit - like you want to say yes - before you turn the Senju down. You may profess to all and sundry that you’ve been ‘cured’ of such thoughts, but that’s complete bullshit. I can see it in your eyes whenever Tajima makes you sit in on meetings with the elders - you don’t believe any of the drivel they’re sprouting.”

Madara opened his mouth to protest.

“Nah uh uh!” Izuna tutted as he pressed a finger over Madara’s lips in a preemptive strike. “Don’t interrupt! Let me finish.”

“What I’m trying to say is...There’s a way for you to get that peace. I’ve been working with an...informant, you might say. An insider. And they’re Senju, of course. We’ve been working together for a while now, and we’ve come up with a plan that we think will work.”

Madara’s world turned on his head as everything screeched to an abrupt halt. It felt like he had just run headfirst into a wall. Izuna? The same Izuna that brought their father to the riverbank? The same Izuna that made no attempt to hide his distaste for the Senju and in fact, proclaimed his opinion on the other clan as loudly as he could? ‘Untrustworthy dicks’ and ‘prejudiced ignorants’ had been amongst some of the numerous insults he had spat out like acid - and that was only within Madara’s earshot. He was sure his brother had definitely voiced his acerbic thoughts with his friends. That wasn’t even counting the things he had to say about his rivalry with the Senju Ghost. 

Madara refused to believe this could be the same brother! 

His face must have betrayed him because Izuna’s face fell as he said in a downtrodden whisper, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Izuna, I am happy. I am so, so happy. This is great! Fantastic...”

“Then why don’t you look happy? I would have thought…”

“No, it's just...Is someone making you do this?” He grabbed Izuna’s shoulders in a bruising grip. “You have to tell me who it is. Whatever they’ve said they’ll do to you, you won’t have to fear. I’ll set them right.” Madara’s eyes blazed with fury as he pounded his fist into a hand. 

Whoever dared to threaten Izuna - his last and most precious brother - and his clan, were going to die. Painfully. Hmm, which would be better: Amaterasu or getting stomped on by his Susanoo? A dark glee lit up inside him as he contemplated a third option - what about both at the same time?

“You’re my first priority, Izuna.” Madara had to make sure that his brother knew that. Izuna had to know that he was the reason Madara got up every day. That he was the one who kept Madara afloat after their brother had died. That every breath and every step he took, was all for him. “To hell with peace if you’re in danger!”

Who even was this mysterious Senju that convinced his brother to set for the path of peace? They had to be strong, because otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to get anything out before his brother slit their throat. He didn’t know of anyone besides the White Demon that could match his brother in single-combat, but obviously it wasn’t Senju Tobirama. That man was the only person he knew who held a bigger grudge than Izuna. Besides, the younger Uchiha would never in a hundred years associate with the monster who had slaughtered countless of his kinsmen. Maybe it was a few Senju? They could have cornered him in a secluded part of the surrounding forest and forced him to do their bidding. But from the way Izuna was speaking, it seemed that there was only one perpetrator. 

When would Izuna and this peculiar Senju have even met? A string of meetings had to have been set up, since his brother was stubborn and set in his ways. Izuna didn’t leave the compound except for missions with a small team, and when he left with the rest of his kinsmen for battle. There was no time to sneak away and speak to a shady informant during these outings since they were often too busy fighting for their lives. Madara could also eliminate that Izuna was meeting them in the Uchiha compound. From what he knew of his brother, Izuna loved their clansmen too much to leave them vulnerable to a possible attack from a Senju - regardless of their identity - in case it was a trap. The few ways into the Uchiha compound were highly protected and guarded. He wouldn’t risk his family, friends and the civilians he had sworn to defend, down like this. His little brother had seen many a shinobi pretending to be a friend or harmless civilian to be let into a guarded place only to wreak havoc once inside.

So, he had cycled back to the questions: who could it be and when and where were they meeting?

Switching tracks with no warning from Izuna’s point of view, he demanded, “Who even is this informant anyways? Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you haven’t said who it is. When and where do you meet?”

“I swear on my eyes-,” and Madara drew back in surprise. For an Uchiha to swear on their clan’s prized doujutsu… “-that I am doing this of my own free will.” Izuna finished with a sort of finality that didn’t require a response. 

“Nii-san, I can’t tell you who it is. I trust you, but I absolutely cannot risk their identity getting out  _ just in case _ . There are ears everywhere.”

Madara huffed.

Fine, he could accept that answer for now. However, he had plenty of other concerns and just as he was about to give voice to those protests, Izuna interrupted.

“Yes, I was wrong. I can’t apologise enough for what happened back then.” Hanging unspoken was  _ at the river, with Senju Hashirama _ . “But I don’t think I’ve ever told you why I was so against peace. It’s not that I don’t think the idea is great, but I didn’t think it was possible with the Senju. Our fated enemies,” here Izuna waves his hands mockingly in the air, “and all that nonsense. But with this new information…I think we have a chance at this.” 

“So, please let me help you make your dreams come true, Nii-san. That is, if you’ll have me.”

Madara sat there stunned and finally let himself hope, the feeling like the tiny flower buds in the last days of winter. 

Feeling like he had to make sure, he feebly croaked out, “This had better not be a joke, because this would be just plain cruel.”

“Look, if you’re still not convinced, go and ask Hikaku. He’ll tell you that what I’m saying is true.”

The hope blossomed and unfurled like the first flower of spring.

“What’s any of this got to do with Hikaku?”

“What does that matter?” Said Izuna testily. As his eye twitched violently several times in a row, Madara decided not to push. It was probably for the best, since his head felt like it was imploding. Or he had just been smacked by Hashirama’s moving trees.

He changed the topic.

“Are you sure about this? I mean,  _ really _ sure about this?” The last vestiges of niggling doubt had to make themselves be known. Madara  _ needed _ the final reassurance for the hope to evolve into certainty.

“ _ Yes _ , Nii-san.” Izuna closed his eyes and visibly collected himself before he patiently explained. “We went over this. I want peace.  _ Yes, I know what I said before _ . But it’s different now. It's a real possibility  _ but only if you work with me _ .”

Izuna looked him dead in the eyes and searched Madara’s face. He was sure that his expression must be hesitant and a little lost, because Izuna blew out a tensioned filled breath. 

“ _ Do you trust me? _ ”

The reply came automatically as Madara’s mouth moved by itself.

“With my life.”

* * *

Like a whirlwind, Izuna was leaving as soon as he came. 

“I’ll fill you in on everything tomorrow night.” Izuna had the gall to wink as he flounced out of the room. Madara watched him go and was startled to see his brother practically bounce around as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulder...which it had been, hadn’t it? “I’ll also tell Hikaku to expect you. Give him a little heads up.”

He stood there, alone in his room for a few moments and couldn’t help the broad grin that found its way to his face. 

Madara pulled the covers up to his eyes and stared at the ceiling as he smiled to himself. For the first time in a long time, he was looking forward to tomorrow. The day seemed brighter already. 

Hold on, Madara squinted out the window. That’s because it was brighter! 

Through slitted eyes, he watched as a bird perched delicately outside on a thin branch. It cheeped away happily into the morning air.

Izuna had kept him up all night!

He had meetings today, the bastard! His brother definitely knew about it and had done this on purpose - he knows Madara gets cranky around the elders (when they kept offering frankly stupid ideas like the current proposal to ally with the Kaguya clan...just no) and it certainly wouldn’t help his control to be sleep deprived.

You know what? Let Izuna deal with it for once. 

Madara rolled over and shut his eyes. 

* * *

Madara felt himself repress the screech that had been building up for the past two days.

Incidentally, it had been two whole days until he could get Hikaku alone, as the man in question had volunteered his time to being a courier for the Uchiha elders (why anyone would willingly want to spend more time around those old crones was a mystery to him) and could always be seen scurrying around the compound while holding stacks of paperwork. It was sheer luck that Madara was exiting a room to the same corridor as the one his cousin was now hurrying down.

“Hikaku,” called Madara. It came out a bit deeper and somewhat scratchier than usual. But he could attribute that to the sheer bullshit that the elders had put him through lately - making him stay up late to fix all the problems they caused. 

His cousin, startled, spun around. The movement caused him to drop the papers he was holding which sent them scattering all over the floor.

Madara winced.

“Madara-sama.” Hikaku greeted his clan heir with a polite smile as he bowed respectfully, and then bent down to pick them up. “How may I help you today?”

Madara leaned down to help, stalling as he fumbled for a reply. “I was told that you could- Izuna said I could ask you-” A traitorous heat rose in his cheeks at his eloquence. 

His cousin sent him a pitying look at the unconvincing attempt. “Is this about the last battle?”

“Yes!” Madara jumped on the opening like a prime steak dangled in front of a starving dog. “Izuna said to ask you about it.” He repeated unnecessarily and immediately felt stupid.

“I presume he’s told you about the Senju thing?”

“So it’s true? My brother is actually working with a  _ Senju _ to bring about peace? I thought he was the most against it, but…” 

Hikaku arranged his papers and nodded serenely, “I was surprised too. But I assure you, Madara-sama, that it is no trap. Your brother truly believes in peace and so does the Senju. I could see in his actions that the Senju really cares for Izuna-sama. They’ve been friends-”

Although Hikaku was still patiently explaining, Madara’s mind had checked out. He had stopped listening and fixated on one simple fact. If Hikaku ‘could see’ the Senju, that meant they had met in person. And if they met in person, then...

“ _ You know who it is?! _ ” Growled Madara, Sharingan-red eyes instinctively flashing. “ _ Tell me! _ ” 

“He hasn’t told you who it is?” Hikaku hummed non-committedly. He was still fiddling with the load in his arms and hadn’t noticed his cousin’s slip. “I suppose he is just waiting for the right time.” 

“Please, Hikaku.” Madara stepped forward and something in his voice made Hikaku’s head jerk up. Madara met his gaze steadily as he begged, “You must tell me who it is.” 

“I can’t tell-”

“I order you to tell me!” Madara yelled wildly. By now, all thoughts of rationality had flown out of the window. 

“Please don’t make me say.” His cousin pedalled backwards as he held one of his hands up defensively - the other still clutching the paperwork tightly in a white knuckled grip. “If Izuna-sama hasn’t said, then it isn’t my place to tell you.” 

There was a tense silence as Madara took a few heaving breaths. He took a few steps back to counter the ones he didn’t realise he had taken.

“Right, fine.” Madara dragged a hand down his face and sighed. “Sorry, Hikaku. I lost my temper. It’s just been so stressful lately with the elders and Izuna, that I took it out on you.”

Hikaku nodded knowingly. 

“Madara-sama, I swear to you on my life, that all I have said is true. But above all, I will protect Izuna-sama at all costs.”

“Hn.” Madara blinked, taken aback at the fervour of the statement and the fire in the eyes before him.

Hikaku waited patiently but Madara made no move to continue the conversation. Sensing that was the end of it, his cousin bowed and made to leave, walking towards the door. But a sheepish cough from Madara caused him to halt halfway to the door and look back.

“Uh, also thank you, but both Izuna and I prefer that you live instead.” 

Hikaku beamed.

* * *

“Are you done yet?”

Tobirama was receiving a very different, but wholly expected reaction from the clingy, sobbing lump that he called his brother. He almost envied Izuna. Although Uchiha Madara had his own brand of dramatics, the Uchiha heir could never top Hashirama-anija. At least he didn’t have to deal with Hashirama-anija and his level of dramatics. 

The white-haired shinobi had only managed to squeak out his change in opinions before being rudely interrupted.

Long, dark hair waved as its owner shook his head and buried his face further into Tobirama’s shoulder. The wet patch would be bordering on uncomfortable by now to anyone else, but sadly not him. Soaking up crocodile tears was something that Tobirama had resigned himself to. There was no escaping his Anija, and not only because he would frivolously abuse the Mokuton - the revered kekkei genkai used only for things of the highest importance that had passed into legend until his brother came around and used it for every little thing. He would command tough, twisting vines to trap Tobirama in place until the tree could launch himself at Tobirama in a crushing hug, but Tobirama was also resigned to his fate because of the sheer emotional manipulation… Those watery-round puppy dog eyes...he would rather die than admit to his older brother that his crocodile tears actually affected him. Anija was just like the specially trained hunting dogs that their clan kept, in that he could sniff these things out from a mile away. It was for this reason the white-haired shinobi usually avoided his brother’s gaze when he got in those ‘moods’ and ruthlessly squashed that weakness into oblivion. 

“The house will flood soon if you don’t stop crying.”

The should-be more mature shinobi clung tighter and increased the ferocity of his sobs.

“Anija, please.”

Unfortunately for the beyond exasperated man just by speaking, he had set off an indoor torrential downpour. Was Tobirama a highly respected shinobi and a fully grown adult, or was he a household towel? Data and results suggested the latter.

“I’m just so happy! My precious baby brother wants peace too!” The great oaf blubbered as his lower lip wobbled. 

Tobirama heaved a long suffering sigh.

Hashirama-anija continued sobbing joyfully and picked Tobirama up like a sack of rice and spun him around merrily. Tobirama heaved another long suffering sigh and didn’t resist. Thinking back, it was time to do the laundry again. As much as he was half resigned to living a life covered in the big baby’s snot, he would rather not if he could avoid it.

By now he’d surely have let his brother have enough fun. 

The younger Senju screwed his eyes shut and sent out tendrils of chakra. A nearby room, not even a three minute walk at civilian speeds, was empty. Tobirama blinked and moved in that direction, unthinkingly shoving his brother away. He only took two paces before he doubled back for his unmoving brother and latched onto his wrist in a tight grip lest Anija get left behind, or go wandering off accidentally. Again.

He ignored all the calls from Hashirama-anija trailing behind him as they stepped through the shoji door shortly after. Tobirama didn’t let go of the bruising grip on the tanned wrist until he slid the doors shut behind him, the wooden door frame and edge of the door  _ clacking _ as they connected. 

Tobirama blew out a breath as he faced the now closed door, his brother chattering away happily behind him. Tense shoulders dropped in forced relaxation as he spun around to face his older brother. Something in his expression must have betrayed the gravity of the situation as Anija’s mouth fell shut with an audible  _ clack _ of teeth-on-teeth. 

“Get comfortable, Anija. There’s more I need to tell you.”

* * *

“AN UCHIHA IS HELPING, WHA- mrmph!”

“Shhh! Shut up, Anija!”

“BUT MY BROTHER HAS A NEW BEST FRIEND AND DIDN’T TELL ME!”

“For God's sake, shut up before someone overhears!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like Izuna, Tobirama told Hashirama that his inside source was an Uchiha (but didn’t specify who). Naturally, neither Tobirama nor Izuna have told their brothers about who the other really is. As in, that they were reincarnated. That’s still a spicy secret.


	12. passage of time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time skip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Speaking in Japanese/Elemental Countries’ Language”  
> “Speaking in English/the OCs’ first language”
> 
> Content Warning: Purposely inflicting wounds not in battle.

**Time passed and the years crawled slowly by.**

* * *

“RETREAT!”

Without speaking, Tobirama and Izuna moved in one continuous movement to face each other. They eyed each other in an assessing look as if waiting to see who would break first.

Eerie was the only description that Touka could give that would fit the scenario. But nothing could have prepared her for what followed. 

Simultaneously, the two shinobi leaned in and raised a fist over a flattened palm. 

“JIAN!” 

_Smack_.

“KEN!”

 _Smack_.

“PON!”

 _Smack_.

The final motion had left the pair holding their hands up in a weird configuration. Her cousin had changed the fist into a mirror image of his other hand - still left as a flattened palm. Uchiha Izuna had folded three fingers into a fist except for his index and middle finger. Those two fingers were stuck straight out. 

Hand seals? But she had never seen them before. As far as she knew, there were only the twelve basic hand seals that had existed since time immemorial, with a few select shinobi using ones for highly modified purposes. Could her cousin have invented new ones like those shinobi? That was entirely possible, but she dismissed the thought before it had fully formed. Tobirama would have shown her if he had. 

Instead, faded memories brought up images of Touka chasing Tobirama around in the public garden when they were children, screaming that she had won and her cousin shrieking his vehement denials. No, those weren’t hand seals…they were from a children’s game.

Why would her cousin and his...friend, be playing a game. Especially here and now? The call to retreat had just been issued, so it stood to reason that they should be well on their way back to their clansmen.

So, the question was: what were the four of them still doing here, with two of their number even playing a game?

Tobirama threw his head back and groaned theatrically at the sky like the world had personally wronged him. Meanwhile, the Uchiha took a shuddering breath as if he was steeling himself to do something. Then he sidled up next to the white-haired man who merely gave him a weary and world-worn gaze. 

“Might as well get it over and done with, eh?” Izuna quirked one side of his mouth up in a grin that he clearly didn’t feel.

The Senju shinobi didn’t say anything but simply nodded. 

Get _what_ over and done with? What in the world was going on? Touka didn’t know anything about this and Tobirama had certainly never mentioned it. She looked over to the other Uchiha for answers but upon seeing his equally baffled face, the kunoichi knew it was a lost cause. 

“You know the drill,” Izuna intoned drily and then swirled a lazy finger in a circle. “Turn around.” 

Seriously, what was going on? Was anyone going to inform her or was she going to be left in the dark for-

Slice.

The ringing echo of metal on metal - sword hitting and tearing its way through previously-pristine and now blood-soaked armour. The squelching sound of a blade sliding through vulnerable flesh. Red gushing out in an arching burst. 

Dead silence. 

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. The dull registration of a thump from a body falling. A scream of _no, what are you doing!_ The _pitter-patter_ of someone running.

Tobirama. What about Tobirama? Have to check on him. He has to be ok. He _has_ to be. Otherwise it was a failure. She failed. Her baby cousin, the little brother she never had- She should _never_ have trusted the Uchiha! Look where that got Tobirama! She knew she should have spoken up, dragged him away - anything to get her precious Tobirama _away_. Uchiha Izuna and Uchiha Hikaku were just like the rest. Traitors and backstabbers, the lot of them! May the Sage strike them down where they stand and curse them to feel this pain a thousandfold over if-

She absentmindedly registered shoving someone out of the way and rushing to her cousin’s side. Touka was already reaching for the emergency medical supplies in her weapon’s pouch. (The kunoichi had never felt more grateful that she had initially started out as an assistant in the Healers’ Halls before switching to the path of a kunoichi.)

Tobirama’s hand latched onto her hand and he pushed her off him. A wounded noise erupted from the back of her throat as she stumbled back, still clutching spools of bandages and salves. 

“ Fuck  ,” Tobirama hissed a string of garbled syllables out through gritted teeth, pain twisting his usual eloquence into unintelligiblity. “  Goddamn it, Izu! That fucking hurt  .” He straightened up from where he had instinctively curled in to protect himself. He rubbed his shoulder, wincing as he prodded the area with two fingers. “  Oh, shit  . That’s really deep.” However, to her heart-stopping horror, the other Senju gestured to the Uchiha to come closer. 

“Hn,” Izuna peered closely at the profusely bleeding area. “Yes, it does appear that way.” With consternation painted on his face, the sheepish Uchiha scratched the back of his neck and unintentionally rubbed in the blood that had splattered from her cousin. 

“I’m sorry, I’ll make sure to not do it so deep next time.”

“It hurts”, grumbled Tobirama petulantly. 

“It’s supposed to hurt! And don’t forget,” Izuna said sarcastically and poked him in the chest. “This was _your_ stupid idea. _You’re_ the only one crazy enough to suggest this. I was all for ‘suspicion’, as you put it. But no, you have to be a _perfectionist_ .” He took a deep breath. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but perfection _hurts_.” Then the Uchiha let out an explosive breath, breaking his momentum and continued in a quieter voice that rang with sincerity, “You know I don’t like doing this.”

Tobirama turned around to face the Uchiha. Touka couldn’t tear her eyes away from the rivulets the blood made as it trickled down his back, staining the vibrant blue in a colour that would dry to a dull, rusty red.

“Tch. I don’t either.” 

“Will someone please tell me what the FUCK is going on?” A screech split the air and with a jolt, she realised that it belonged to her. “Your so called ‘friend’, that- That backstabbing traitor! He just fucking- He just hurt you! He’s the same as all the rest of the Uchiha! We can’t trust them! How can you trust them? Why are you acting like that with him still? Still joking around?! I can’t-”

“Touka-nee,” Tobirama stepped forward and took her hands in his. She couldn’t help as her eyes landed on the wound still oozing blood. “You’re crying.” 

The kunoichi lifted a hand to her cheek. She pulled it away and the tips were indeed damp. 

“Of course, I’m fucking crying! He just-” Touka spotted Tobirama’s gaze flicker to Izuna. That motherfucking shithead looked lost and confused as if everything wasn’t his fault! What _right_ did he have to look that way, when _he_ was the one to _stab_ her cousin?! The absolute gall of the Uchiha was astounding even after all of these years. 

“Touka-nee, it’s not what you think-” Tobirama started. 

“What is it then? Because it looks to me that _he_ ,” she pointed an accusatory finger at Izuna and was darkly satisfied to see him flinch, “just _stabbed_ you!”

“No, but-”

“Don’t ‘no’ me! The wound is literally bleeding out. Just please let me help-” Touka stalked forward, tear-stained as she struggled with the medical supplies that were somehow still in her hands. Now, Tobirama was moving away. Why was he moving away? “Please, cousin.”

“Listen to me!” Tobirama roared and the volume was loud enough to shock her into silence. It was also so jarring that she gave an involuntary jerk and watched the stuff she held tumble to the ground where they rested, now a light brown.

Those were her only set and now they were dirty. She couldn’t use them until they were cleaned again. But Tobirama...

Her cousin pulled her up from where she had been scrabbling on the ground and pushing aside the dusty bandages in chase of the rolling pot of salve. 

And then she stood dazed while he explained.

Another explanation didn’t make it any better. The man had had to explain it for a second time once Hikaku had been revived from where he had fainted/passed out/knocked out/whatever he was doing. She didn’t really care about the semantics. Luckily for them, the sounds of shinobi disengaging were still echoing to where they were, when Hikaku woke up.

Hikaku had fared slightly better than her at hearing it and took it all in with a stony and stoic silence, and a glassy stare that suggested he was going to return home tonight and fully process it in the privacy of his own home. With copious amounts of tears and maybe a mental breakdown or two. 

“Do we have to do that too?” Hikaku-san had whispered at last, transfixed by the blood still dripping from Tobirama’s back.

“No,” Tobirama said. “You won’t be noticed if you return uninjured. We will.”

Senju Butsuma and Uchiha Tajima. No-one needed to say their names to know that they were what everyone was thinking. You couldn’t escape the clan heads when you lived with them. 

When Izuna presented himself for his turn, she (and Hikaku) had very nearly protested but were silenced by a single quelling look from the other Senju.

There were no jokes or snarky comments, this time. Only a couple of grunts, a spurt of blood, and whispered apologies.

The four left in silence.

* * *

**There are times that shinobi must do what they would rather run away from.**

* * *

“What was that?” Izuna wheezed and gave a pitiful attempt at a rakish grin. It was definitely more of a pained smile; an unaffected smirk which failed miserably and looked more like a grimace of pain...which it was. “It felt like a bug biting me. I think you’re losing your touch, Tobi.” He wiped a trickle of blood away. 

Tobirama rolled his eyes. 

“Alright turn around,” demanded Izuna impatiently. “It’s my turn. Where do you want it today?”

Tobirama pointed to his lower back. 

“Ask and ye shall receive.”

* * *

 **On the rare day that it was just the two of them - Hikaku and Touka preoccupied elsewhere on the battlefield - Tobirama and Izuna spent their time in a well-thought-out manner. Every minute- no, every** **_second_ ** **was precious and couldn’t be wasted as the days trickled by, falling like water from a cupped palm**.

* * *

A slow and sweet smile made its way up Tobirama’s face. 

The feline-like red eyes made the Senju look like a pleased cat who just got the cream, as Izuna struggled frantically underneath him. Tobirama felt a flash of pleasure as Izuna’s begging became louder and tomoe swirled to life in now-red eyes in a desperate attempt to spare himself. 

_Poot!_

Izuna shrieked.

“You farted on me! Ewww! I can’t believe you actually did it! Gross!” Izuna continued and squirmed in an attempt to escape the toxic cloud. 

“Get off me,” echoed around their hiding spot, as Tobirama burst into bright peals of laughter, laughing so hard he rolled off the Uchiha pinned beneath him. 

Imagine that, the Senju Demon defeated by flatulence. 

If only the other Uchiha could see him now, they’d never believe it was the same stoic man (almost monster) vanquished by his own immaturity.

* * *

**With some exceptions, of course.**

* * *

Touka found herself reluctantly befriending Hikaku.

They had started off just tolerating the other for the sake of their respective cousins. Sending each other frosty and assessing glances from the side of their eyes as they fulfilled their self-appointed role of babysitter, was the extent of their relationship. She still hadn’t fully forgiven that Uchiha for his ‘stunt’, but since Tobirama had begged her not to and didn’t seem to be doing anything himself, she wasn’t in any position to act otherwise. So, Touka had thought that was that. The kunoichi could put up with those Uchiha scum for her precious cousin. 

But that was before she knew better.

Evidently, her cousin and his friend had been holding back for their sake. And by ‘holding back’, she meant _holding back_. It was like being with the Uchiha, had unlocked something inside Tobirama. If she thought he was bad before, well… she’d eat her words.

Touka and Hikaku had learnt to read the signs of impending disaster. 

When their idiot cousins got to crouching together and whispering furiously together as they scribbled strange lines on the dirt, or when Tobirama casually created a Doton wall to transfer his writings onto, or after that when Tobirama and Izuna looked up with twin manic gleams in their eyes…

The worst was when there were _giggles_. 

The two frequently exchanged exasperated looks full of understanding before rushing in to pull their cousins away from the self-made dangers.

“Tobirama!” “Izuna-sama!”

Sometime after an incident where her cousin had lost his eyebrow _again_ , it had hit her like she had been on the receiving end of her other cousin’s out of control Mokuton. Uchiha Izuna wasn’t a victim of her cousin’s wild ideas. No, he was his partner in crime. He was an _enabler_.

While trying to curb the subsequent wreckage from their meetings and trying to mitigate the destruction the two ‘mad scientists’ (a phrase that Tobirama told her came from Bird Country and that she felt perfectly encapsulated the unique experience of being related to a madman), the kunoichi had somehow found herself best friends with an Uchiha.

Once they had gotten to talking, Touka had hit it off with Hikaku like a house on fire. Or, like Tobirama and his laboratory. 

Supervising the two trouble magnets wasn’t a full time occupation. Once she had given him a chance, the kunoichi found Hikaku to be a remarkably polite and respectful man under all of the protective bluster. There were often lulls before the eventual disaster, and her counterpart filled the inaction with tales of his life at the Uchiha compound. 

Like that one story where Izuna got thrown in the koi pond at the age of five because he had accidentally burnt off a chunk of Uchiha Madara’s hair with a stray katon. Or that one time that Izuna snuck frogs into his brother’s bed and Uchiha Madara had gotten his revenge by dunking him into the koi pond. Or that one time Uchiha Madara had lost a shirt and blamed Izuna and punished him with the koi pond, then Uchiha Madara had found it at the back of the closet where it had fallen a couple of days later.

She had a good laugh at the mental image of the great Uchiha Madara sheepishly apologising to a very irate, sodden and still dripping wet Izuna.

In other words, she found out that Izuna was a frequent visitor to the main house’s koi pond. Moreover, Uchiha Madara wasn’t really what she had expected. On the battlefield, he was a giant, looming figure of mass destruction, but from Hikaku’s stories he was described as a man just like any other. Granted, a flaily, screechy and easily provoked man, but a man nonetheless. 

(Uchiha Madara’s theatrics would rival a certain clan heir and cousin of hers.) 

Hikaku also spoke about the darker times in his life. He had told her about growing up an orphan and having to rely on the kindness of strangers before the main family had stepped in. Had told her about struggling with nightmares that left him sweat-soaked and screaming in the middle of the night. Had told her about the immense pressure to live up to impossible standards that he - an ordinary shinobi by any means - felt.

To return the favour, she had shared tales of herself. Like the elation she had felt when she threw a kunai and it hit the target right in the middle. Like the cold terror she had encountered on her first battlefield. Like the first time she had _killed_. 

Her kinsmen were wrong. The Uchiha were human too and had families, fears, hopes and dreams, and lives just like any Senju had . 

Some of the Senju she knew, should take notes from this man instead of sprouting unfounded bullshit about the Uchiha. (She steadily avoids the shame bubbling up inside her when she remembers that she had once spat out scathing vitriol of her now-friend’s clan.)

Even now, the second heir of the Uchiha was whining about the cold like a civilian child a third of his age. Scarcely had two minutes passed before Tobirama huffed and tossed his fur collar at Izuna, taking it off in one smooth movement that belied a familiarity that came only with repeated practice. 

Touka discreetly disrupted her chakra because this had to be a genjutsu. Her cousin was extremely territorial over his fur. Tobirama religiously brushed the thing clean after a battle and the one time Hashirama had tried something...it had not ended well. For Hashirama that is. Tobirama had emerged victorious with a smug smirk. But the sight in front of her stayed the same - there was Izuna with the fur and Tobirama just let him have it?!

The Uchiha yelped and spent a good few minutes trying and failing to put it on. When pleading eyes were turned on her cousin, the white-haired Senju grumbled the entire time but grumpily stomped over to help Izuna affix.

“There. Are you happy now?”

“Yep! Thanks Ani- I mean, Tobira.”

“Tch. Don’t say I don’t do anything for you.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

The grateful look from Izuna to his friend and the repriocatint gaze from Tobirama was enough for her. Just...the complete ease of Tobirama lending it to the Uchiha like he had done it plenty of times before (for all Touka knew, Tobirama could have been doing that in the meetings they’d had before Hikaku and Touka had discovered them.) 

Looking back, the open trust from the man who guarded his heart fiercely so much that he never acted without calculating the benefits of actions -even around family - and having that trust be returned from the people that the Senju had always said were one step below human, was one of the turning points in Touka’s opinion of the two Uchiha. Indeed, it wasn’t a sudden shock, but rather it was an answering confirmation to hundreds of little instances. 

Touka trusted Uchiha Izuna and Uchiha Hikaku fully and without any reservation.

It was smooth sailing from then on. 

Well, it was _relatively_ smooth. Whenever Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna were involved, things started being measured differently. The kunoichi had had to adjust from using the binary ‘good/bad’ system that ordinary folk used, to using scale where one end was the accidental disappearance of a noticeable patch of forest under mysterious means, and the opposite was sending a dented kunai to the stars.

(At least they did whatever they were doing quietly and covertly - although how long it would stay that way, she didn’t know. Despite losing rationality when Tobirama and Izuna came into close proximity with one another, they managed to retain enough to realise that huge and flashy shows would be a quick and fatal end to these meetings.)

For the sake of simplicity, Touka would just say that it was smooth sailing to anyone who asked.

Which, she hoped that no one did. 

* * *

**Family bonds were strengthened...**

* * *

“Tobira, I found it~”

Hashirama toed the study door open as his view was obstructed by the towering stack of files, documents and other papers he held in his arms. 

‘Here you go- OH!” 

Tobirama’s rhythmic scribbling was interrupted as he looked up in alarm at the sudden sound of his brother colliding with the floor and sending the papers up into the air. Sheets fluttering down morosely from where they now followed the descent that their carrier had already completed. The red-eyed Senju scrubbed at his face, too tired to deal with his nonsense. He heaved a great sigh as he continued looking at his brother sprawled unceremoniously on the ground, and made sure to fill it with every ounce of his exasperation.

The older Senju popped back to his feet as if nothing had happened, delivering a thousand watt smile at the frankly unimpressed recipient. Tobirama stared at his brother, and Hashirama just cocked his head in confusion. What did his precious otouto want? 

Then Tobirama pointedly glanced down at the floor and Hashirama’s gaze followed. He sheepishly bent over and picked it up sheet by sheet. He cast surreptitious glances at his brother, only to be met by an unwavering wall. 

“Put it over there,” Tobirama finally said after watching the entire ordeal until Hashirama had stood up again, arms once more burdened. He gestured lazily over to a part of the desk that was slightly less occupied than other parts. 

Hashirama gave his brother a nod that he didn’t see, having already returned to the work in front of him. The long-haired man took a moment to appreciate the sight in front of him. His heart swelled with uncontainable love and warmed his chest every time that he saw his brother pouring over papers on papers and rifling through endless documents and files. While Tobirama turned his incredibly analytical mind to looking for a solution that was plausible and had a high chance of acceptance by the Senju. 

Hashirama smiled proudly. 

It was hard to believe that the number one Uchiha hater and staunch defender of ‘a Senju-Uchiha peace is impossible’ had changed his views so drastically overnight. Any Senju would have said Senju Tobirama was the most against any sort of non-violent coexistence with their eternal enemies - that nobody else held as fierce and as unquenchable a tsunami of hatred for any clan they had ever witnessed. 

So no-one could fault him for saying that if he had had to pick, Tobirama would not have been his first choice, or any choice at all, to count on for support for his dream.

That’s not to say that he hadn’t wanted his brother’s help! He had approached the sharp-minded shinobi countless times but was rebuffed harshly every time. It didn’t stop him from returning time after time with a beaming grin and the same question, however. Hashirama didn’t know anyone else who could pull this off, and in the deep recesses of his mind, Hashirama feared that he would die alone in a world where children died before their first decade in a pointless war. And it would never change. That it was forever.

But since he had never been so happy to have been mistaken. 

His brother had _changed his mind_ and now he had Tobirama at his back, like it was always supposed to be. Not only that, but Tobirama had brought along Touka! Now he had _two_ whole Senju on his side!

The morning after he had woken up and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that it wasn’t a dream. That this was a reality he was allowed to have. 

(The clan heir made Tobirama reassure him six times the day he told him that it hadn't all been a cruel dream. He had replied that if Hashirama wanted the offer rescinded, Tobirama was more than happy to do so. Hashirama shut up after that.)

It turned out that Tobirama was probably more passionate and definitely more driven than Hashirama about the whole thing. The younger man had knocked hesitantly on Hashirama’s door that fateful day and slunk into the room. Hashirama thought his brother was making fun of him - Tobirama obviously heard Madara cruelly reject his offer again. But when Tobirama had started in on his 250 point presentation and plan, Hashirama realised that his brother was dead serious. 

When Tobirama met Hashirama’s shocked eyes with a type of cautious wariness that Hashirama had never seen from his brother, that was when it struck him like lightning through his veins. Oh! Oh! Oh! His brother was nervous and wanted his approval!

Hashirama’s heart squeezed painfully with the strength of the fondness that gripped him. He wanted to sweep his cute baby brother into a crushing hug in that moment, and yell at the top of his lungs that he was so proud, but only just managed to restrain himself. Tobirama wouldn’t appreciate it and would probably shove him away.

(He totally gave into the impulse a bit later, but who’s counting?)

Hashirama wilted a little, at that memory. However, he didn’t let it affect him for long and he perked up again as a brilliant idea occurred to him. 

Looking around the study, he spied a spare seat and placed it with a _thonk_ next to his brother. 

“Anija,” Tobirama warned without looking up. He probably thought that Hashirama was going to whinge, whine and do anything to get out of doing work. And probably distract Tobirama as well until a good few hours had been wasted chasing the overgrown child. “If you’re going to be annoying then you can-”

Hashirama slid into the empty seat. 

“What are you working on?”

Tobirama’s gaze snapped up to him in pleased surprise and after a moment of confused blinking, a tired yet grateful smile graced the younger’s face. The white-haired Senju reached and pulled a paper until it sat in between them. He scanned the desk until he spotted an unused brush and handed it unceremoniously to his brother as he pushed the inkpot closer. 

“Here’s what you do, Anija.”

His- no, _their_ dream was ripe for the taking.

* * *

**… and hope burned brightly, lighting the path to better days.**

* * *

“It’s going to be alright.” 

It was an hour until the presentation. The plan had been going well with minimal hiccups so Madara and Izuna (after consulting his informant, whose unknown identity picked at Madara’s mind like a particularly annoying scab) had decided to go ahead with a risky public speech. Tajima was still alive, that was true. But it gave them a chance to publicly undermine his authority and destroy his reputation as the clan head tried to defend himself.

They were confident in the strength of support from the other Uchiha. Their kinsmen had been surprisingly easier to convince than what Madara thought. 

(Madara didn’t know that Izuna had spent those late nights on crafting the perfect argument - agonising over every single word’s connotation to not leave even the slightest loophole. He called on all of his training - Izuna had been a very successful lawyer for God’s sake! Big convincing speeches were exactly what he was made for. But the stakes were so high...)

But now, Izuna was crouched in a corner, hugging his knees tightly as he stared blankly ahead. His countenance was at odds with the rapid and shallow inhalations that Madara could clearly hear. 

Madara let out a sigh.

He dropped down in front of Izuna and after a moment or two without any acknowledgement or indication, Madara decided he had to do something. He brushed a stray lock of hair out of his face. 

“Tell me what’s wrong.” 

Izuna’s breath stuttered and he blinked. Once, twice, and he turned clear eyes on his brother. 

This time, Madara’s sigh was one of relief. 

Madara waited expectantly but Izuna only pressed his lips together in a tight line and looked away. 

That wouldn’t do. 

“Please tell me what’s wrong. Your Nii-san can’t help you if you don’t tell me,” he cajoled. 

Hesitantly, Izuna spilled his worries about disappointing Madara, his fears about messing up, and ruminations over how the Uchiha would take it and how _Tajima_ would take it…

(And inside his heart, Izuna knew this was the one chance he’d get to be able to live with both of his brothers and he couldn’t afford to do anything to jeopardise it.) 

When Izuna grew silent, he shrunk back in on himself and refused to look at Madara. 

“Come on,” Madara heaved himself up, brushed off his robes and then extended a hand to Izuna. “I believe in you.” 

Izuna took his hand with a shaky smile and Madara pulled his brother up.

“There’s no way you could ever disappoint me.”

* * *

“Thanks, Nii-san. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“...”

“Now get out there! They’re all waiting for you, Izuna.”

“...I’m suddenly nervous again.”

* * *

Warmth filled Madara’s heart. 

He smiled from the sidelines, helplessly proud as he watched his fellow clansmen clap and cheer as Izuna took to the stage. Looking at his brother, never had his...no _their_ dream be closer than now. 

Good, he nodded to himself. It wouldn’t do Izuna or their cause any good to show any exploitable weaknesses when speaking about something of this magnitude. 

His eyes remained riveted to his brother’s animated form. Izuna was leaning forward so engaged was he, with eyes bright with passion and voice ringing with hope as he gestured wildly.

Peace. A complete overhaul of their way of life but no more fighting and dying can be nothing but a good thing. Some might find it hard adapt - finding comfort in the monotonous predictability and repetition of endless revenge.

But what kind of life is that? 

Although the road would be hard, the Uchiha will be happy. 

Stagnation is death. Change is life. 

What Madara didn’t know yet was that it was the first of many arduous yet successful public speeches and declarations at the Uchiha compound. 

(Unnoticed in the shadows, Tajima scowled thunderously before turning his back and sculking away from the joyous scene.)

* * *

**Despite all the changes that had taken place, some things remained the same.**

* * *

“I’ve got a present for you.” 

“Really?” A thin eyebrow raised over red eyes in sceptical disbelief. “What is it, Izu?” 

_Toot!_

“...mature. Real mature.”

“Says you!”

* * *

**And so, time continued to pass comfortably.**

**The sun rose and fell each day and the stars twinkled in the sky next to a brightly illuminated moon as the reunited brothers spent their months and then years, together.**

**Until Senju Butsuma and Uchiha Tajima died.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! It’s the home stretch...kinda...not really. But we’re moving on to the next chunk of the story! 
> 
> And yes, it's been kinda long since the last update...what can I say? University started up again and it's been super hectic.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think?


End file.
